Egyptian sculpture

54 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE

in place by a fillet which constricts the tresses so that they swell out from underneath it. The lady’s own hair, also parted in the middle, is taken in a band across each side of the forehead. The fillet is probably of worked leather, but whether the embroidery is needlework or appliqué is uncertain; possibly it might even be painted. Nefert wears several rows of bead necklaces (represented as plain bands), the lowest row consisting of petal-shaped pendants, of which actual examples in glazed ware have been found. The hand which is open against the body has received the most meticulous care, both on the part of the lady and of the sculptor. It is a beautiful little hand; dimples are indicated across the knuckles, and the nails have obviously been carefully tended; they are represented as being white, which is in accordance with nature, the nails always being lighter than the natural skin. Again, as with the male figure, the ankles and feet are of inferior work to the rest of the statue, the ankles are thick and quite out of agreement with the fineness of the wrists; the feet also are thick and clumsy, and should be compared with the beauty and delicacy of the hand. The thrones on which the figures sit are of the plainest; they are mere blocks of limestone in which the sides are not even smoothed, and there is no colour or attempt at finishing. The spaces on the high backs on each side of the heads of the figures are filled in with inscriptions incised and painted blue; the inscriptions give in each case the title and name of the person represented. One of the best-known statues of the Old Kingdom is that of Khafra, found by Mariette in the Granite Temple at Gizeh in 1858 (Pl. VIII. For detail of head see Pl. IX. 1). The king is represented sitting on the usual straightbacked armless throne of the type of that of Zoser. His right hand is clenched and rests on the right thigh,