Egyptian sculpture

60 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE

than can be said for the later sculpture. The edge of the shin-bone and the parallel muscle are too sharply marked; in fact, the whole method of representing the lower part of the leg is reminiscent of the Proto-dynastic work. The face is evidently a portrait; the features are not particularly refined or aristocratic, but that is in accordance with the other statues of this king. The ears are rather large, but not unnaturally so, and they are not only set at the right height, but do not project, as is so often the case in statues of the late Middle Kingdom and of the New Kingdom. The beard is square-tipped and striped transversely. The modelling of the face is not quite so fine as the diorite statues of Khafra, but is far in advance of anything done at a later period. The sculptor who was responsible for this fine piece of portraiture was essentially an artist. The royal costume is represented as consisting of a pleated loin-cloth folded across the front, with one end falling down, the folds and end being held in position by a belt round the waist. The head-dress consists of the White Crown without the uraeus. The form of this crown appears to have been conventionalised as early as the IInd dynasty; it fits closely round the head, and as it rises it widens to about one-third its height, then narrows rapidly and ends in a knob. The form should be compared with Narmer’s crown, which was possibly derived from a sheaf of corn. The figures of the goddesses are SO inferior to that of the king in artistic ability and skill as to suggest that they were by another hand, but the faces are obviously by the same sculptor who portrayed the king. Judging by the official portrait of the queen, the nome-goddess is a likeness of that lady; there are the same plebeian features and determined mouth. The woman, who was the model for Hathor, is considerably younger, and, from the close resemblance, may have been