Upper part of a statue of Iqer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This torso and head were discovered separately in the debris of a large tomb at Deir el-Bahri on the west bank at Thebes: the torso was on the floor level of a large courtyard; and the head, along with part of the statue's pedestal, was found in the fill of the burial shaft. On the fragmentary base were the remains of an inscription that included the owner's name, Iqer. Stylistically the statue, which follows the traditions of the late Old Kingdom, can be dated to the late 11th or early 12th Dynasty. The lack of a back pillar suggests that this bust was part of a seated statue. Here Iqer crosses his arms over his chest with his hands open and flat, in a gesture likely directed toward the afterlife judges to whom he would have to justify his deeds in life.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art