Standing figure of the Memi

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Standing figure of the Memi
Standing figure of the Memi.jpg
Limestone funerary statue of Memi
material limestone
Dimensions H. 87 cm; W. 24.4 cm; T. 28.3 cm;
origin Giza , necropolis
time Old Kingdom ( 6th Dynasty ), around 2200 BC Chr.
place Hildesheim , Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum , PM 2

The Egyptian collection of the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim contains the grave statue of Memi from the Old Kingdom , late 6th dynasty , around 2200 BC. BC grave statues were used as substitutes for the deceased. With the help of such substitutes, the grave lord or the grave lady could receive the sacrifices and prayers made at the cult site of the grave, which should guarantee them an eternal and well-cared for life in the afterlife.

Location

Wilhelm Pelizaeus from Hildesheim largely financed the excavations by Georg Steindorff ( University of Leipzig ) on the so-called Westfriedhof near the Great Pyramid in Gizeh between 1903 and 1907. By dividing the finds in 1905, Wilhelm Pelizaeus received numerous objects, including the statue of the Memi belonged. These finds formed part of his private collection in Cairo , which he gave as a gift to his hometown Hildesheim in 1907. The objects have been in Hildesheim since 1909 and have been exhibited there since the museum opened in 1911. Georg Steindorff discovered the standing figure of the Memi together with a seated figure of the same man in grave D32 + D32A. The standing figure then came to Hildesheim. Georg Steindorff brought the seated figure of the Memi to Leipzig, where it can be seen today in the Egyptian Museum of the University of Leipzig (inventory number: ÄMUL 2560). Both statues were located in a niche at the southern end of the cult chamber of Memi, which belonged to a building that was erected over an older mastaba and attached to the east of the neighboring mastaba of NeferherniPtah. The seated figure of the Memi was located south of his standing figure. Both statues faced east and show a striking resemblance.

Description and state of preservation

The official Memi, who is referred to as the royal "cleaning priest", is shown with his left foot in front. It stands on a rectangular base painted black, leaning against a high back plate. The figure looks a bit rigid because it is strictly axially aligned. His arms are stretched out along the body axis and his hands are clenched into fists. The apparently cylindrically shaped “object” that the sitter appears to be holding in his hands could be a fabric amulet, or a convention of the sculptors of that time, who did not depict overly closed fists without “inside”. It is also conceivable that it is a sculptural suggestion of a staff or a " scepter " that could not be represented in stone. The standing figure is 87 cm high, 24.4 cm wide and 28.3 cm deep. Memi wears a black curly wig and a thin black mustache. All the details that were originally painted on have been lost from a wide neck collar, which today only stands out from the red-brown skin as a white surface. Memi is dressed in a knee-length apron, the typical official costume of his time. The carefully worked out lengthways folds of the apron are pleated crosswise again and thus form a zigzag pattern. The belt is worked with particular care, is rounded at the ends and shows a detailed knot clasp. However, the belt is not continued behind the arms.

The face is idealized with serious features and the mouth is not smiling. The oversized eyes are wide open and show the slightly upward gaze, which is often documented for grave statues. Memi looks beyond this world into a hoped-for eternal life in the hereafter. The statue expresses the ideal form in which he wanted to continue to live in the afterlife: ageless and well-proportioned. On the top of the base, the name of the memi is noted in front of the right foot without a title. The title “Cleansing Priest” can only be found on the Leipzig seated statue of Memi. The architrave of the entrance to the cult chamber also bears the name and title of the memi. Cleansing priest is a relatively low official status. The good quality of his statue is therefore astonishing and speaks for the sometimes high level of craftsmanship at the time of the 6th Dynasty. Nevertheless, the figure must be seen in the context of the mass production of small-format statues that were made during the 5th and 6th centuries. Dynasty in Giza the image of private sculpture dominated. The grave statue is still in a relatively good state of preservation today. However, parts of the nose have broken off; The mouth, chin, toes of the left foot, and the front base side are also somewhat damaged. The red-brown painting on the upper body, arms and hands, face and legs, on the other hand, is very well preserved.

literature

  • Albert Ippel , Günther Roeder : The monuments of the Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim . Curtius-Verlag, Berlin 1921, p. 50
  • Hans Kayser : The Egyptian antiquities in the Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim. Verlag Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1973, ISBN 3-8067-8002-1 . P. 46.
  • Matthias Seidel: Standing figure of the Memi. In: Arne Eggebrecht (Ed.): The Old Kingdom, Egypt in the age of the pyramids. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1986 ISBN 3-8053-0936-8. P. 73, No. 25.
  • Martin von Falck: Standing walking figure of the Memi. In: Katja Lembke , Martin von Falck, Bettina Schmitz (eds.): The old Egypt in Hildesheim. Volume 1: The Old Kingdom, Egypt from its beginnings to high culture. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-8053-4073-1 . P. 100, No. 27.
  • Katja Lembke, Bettina Schmitz (Hrsg.): Beauty in ancient Egypt, longing for perfection. Verlag Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 2006, ISBN 3-8067-8559-7 . Cat. 049, pp. 172-173 and Fig. P. 91.
  • Bettina Schmitz: Standing statue of Memi. In: Katja Lembke, Bettina Schmitz (eds.), Giza. At the foot of the great pyramids . Verlag Hirmer, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7774-3481-0 . Pp. 190–191, no. 102 (book accompanying the exhibition in the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim, April 16 to August 21, 2011).
  • Eva Martin-Pardey: Plastic of the AR (Corpus Antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum, loose-leaf collection of Egyptian antiquities, Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim. Delivery 1 ), Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1977, ISBN 3-8053-0291-6 . Bl. 9-15.
  • Susanne Peschel: Standing figure of the Memi. In: Wilfried Seipel (ed.) In the kingdom of the pharaohs. In search of immortality. Loeben 2001, (exhibition catalog for the exhibition Kunsthalle Loeben from March 31 to November 4, 2001). ISBN 3-9500840-0-8 (incorrect), ISBN 3-9500-8400-2 , No. 60, p. 92.
  • Wilfried Seipel (Ed.): Gott- Mensch- Pharao, Four thousand years of human image in the sculpture of ancient Egypt , Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-900325-22-7 , cat. No. 30.
  • Bertha Porter , Rosalind LB Moss : Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic, Texts, Reliefs and Paintings, vol. III², 1: Memphis. Part I. (Abû Rawâsh to Abûsîr) by Jaromir Malek revised and expanded edition . The Clarendon Press, Oxford 1974, p. 110 gizapyramids.org ( PDF; 19.6 MB )

Web links

Individual notes

  1. ↑ Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim: Inventory number PM 2