Egyptian sculpture

66 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE

with a mortise and tenon, and the front part of each foot has also been worked separately and then joined. The boy’s round face with its rather deferential expression is probably a likeness; the eyes are large and wide, and correctly set under the level brows. The nose and mouth, when seen from the front, suggest a negroid type, but this is contradicted by the side-view; the later portraits of the man, when the face has fallen in slightly, show no trace of negro features. The mouth is remarkable for the thick upper lip, which has the small ridge along its upper length, characteristic of ancient Egyptian faces and even of many inhabitants of modem Egypt. The contours of the chin as well as the rest of the face show the roundness of youth. The ears appear to be of the size, and to be set at the level, of the nose, but the detail is hidden by the conventional short-curled wig of the period. The modelling of the shoulders, arms, and body shows observation and skill in rendering the incompletely developed muscles, while the underlying bony structure is also indicated. Both hands are clenched, but the objects held are not clearly defined. The knees are carefully modelled; the anatomy of the legs is not so insistent as is usual, the long muscle by the tibia is shown but not exaggerated, and the ankles, even from the front, are not unpleasantly thick. The stride is unusually wide, which may be intended in order to indicate youthful energy, and the feet are naturalistically formed. The material of the statuette is ebony, a wood with a hard, fine grain in which delicate detail can be shown. Altogether this is an extraordinarily fine example of Egyptian art, and one which has not received the attention it deserves.

The group of Pepi I, at two different periods of his life, was found at Hierakonpolis by Quibell in 1897. It is of metal, generally said to be copper, and the main figure is above