Statue of Senedjemib Mehi
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The statue of Senedjemib Mehi is an ancient Egyptian wooden statue from the time of the Old Kingdom . It is one of the comparatively few preserved and also high quality large wooden statues of ancient Egypt. Today it is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston .
The statue of Senedjemib Mehi was found in the winter of 1912 during joint excavations by Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts in room H , the Mastaba Chapel, of grave G 2385 in Giza . The following year it was brought to the United States with the permission of the Government of Egypt and is one of the exhibits in the museum with the date of December 4, 1913 under inventory number 13.3466 . The statue was found lying on the ground, where it had been thrown by ancient Egyptian grave robbers in their search for valuable grave inventory. Due to the favorable climatic conditions prevailing there, the statue is very well preserved to this day. The statue, which is still 106 centimeters high and therefore less than life-size today, lacks the right lower leg from about knee height including the foot and parts of the left lower leg including the foot. Further major damage can be found on both legs, the right side of the body and the right shoulder. In addition, the head next to the right eye cracked.
Senedjemib Mehi is shown with one left foot exposed. The left arm is bent at the elbow while the right arm hangs down on the side of the body. The arms were made separately and attached with a tenon connection, as the tree trunk from which the figure was made was not wide enough. The connection was then filled and painted and was therefore no longer visible to the viewer. As is known from reliefs , one can assume that there must have been a walking stick in the left hand and a scepter in the right hand. The rows of curls of the wig are meticulously worked out, even details such as tear ducts have been designed. Like the nipples, the eyes were made of a different material and were inserted. You are lost today. The face gives an intelligent expression, the lips are very full.
Such statues were on the one hand typical and stood for a more expressive style of ancient Egyptian art that coexisted with an idealizing style. A special feature of the statue, however, is the nudity. In general, only young children were shown undressed. However, all the evidence suggests that Senedjemib Mehi was an adult. This is supported by the size and design of the statue, as well as the limb that was typically only circumcised during puberty . It is possible that the clothes were painted on the statue with paint or the statue was clothed with cloth. Evidence for the one and the other has not survived, however. The statue is dated between 2353 and 2323 BC. BC, the reign of Unas in the 5th dynasty.
literature
- Statue of Senedjemibmehy. In: Rita E. Freed, Lawrence M. Berman, Denise M. Doxey: Arts of Ancient Egypt. MFA Publications, Boston 2003, ISBN 978-0-87846-661-0 , pp. 94-95 ( identical text in the online catalog of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, English)
