Striding Man

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ka-statues were created for use in the funerary cult and their intent was to make the deceased present after death in order to accept offerings from the living. The statues depict their owners in their best dress: a pleated kilt, jewelry, and styled hair. The man here, however, wears only a short wig of tightly layered curls. His large head, long body and limbs, and narrow waist date the statue to the late Old Kingdom, when male nudity in ka statues was more common. Why this happened is not clearly understood, but it is thought to be one way the deceased could be readied for rebirth into the next life. Perhaps leaving this life without clothing was thought to mimic the way a baby arrives into the world.

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