Egyptian sculpture

58 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE

strands descending to the shoulders, like that of Nefert; below the wig is the lady’s own hair, in small curls arranged vertically across the forehead. The figure is dressed in the tight-fitting dress of the period, with two shoulder-straps, below which the breasts and nipples are clearly defined; the swell of the breasts is naturalistically rendered, and so also are all the curves of the figure. The edge of the hip-bone is indicated, though not so much insisted on as in the women’s figures in the Menkaura group. The arms are rendered with truth and accuracy. The size of the hands, however, should be carefully noted; they are the hands of a woman who has done manual work, and should be compared with the hands of Nefert, who has evidently always led a life of ease. The hollow of the navel shows under the thin garment, so also do the groin and the division between the legs. The ankles are, as usual, thick and clumsy, but in this case are more in keeping with the hands and arms than in the case of Nefert. The toes are unusually long, with wide divisions between them, but again are in keeping with the rather coarse fingers. Both figures have been painted with the details of the necklace, the ornament on the upper part of the dress, and the trellis decoration at the bottom of the skirt. This may be a representation of the weaving, or it may be the bead network such as is mentioned in the tale of Sneferu, who was rowed in a boat by girls wearing networks. The boy’s figure is interesting in that it is an attempt to represent the roundness of youth. The representation of children is rare in all art until a late period, and in primitive art, representations of the rounded chubbiness of a child are excessively rare. The boy has the same large eyes, the same coarse features, the same downward curving mouth as the woman; the likeness suggests that he may have been her son. The figure is well modelled, the anatomy being treated broadly and