Sculpture of Egyptian Family Unearthed in Saqqara

SAQQARA, EGYPT—Science News Today reports that a unique sculpture depicting an ancient Egyptian family was recovered near Saqqara’s Gisr el-Mudir enclosure, one of Egypt’s oldest known stone structures. The limestone statue depicts a nobleman who stands tall with his left foot slightly forward, a common pose in Old Kingdom artwork that symbolizes vitality and strength. The man’s wife, who is rendered on a much smaller scale, is seen kneeling and embracing her husband’s right leg. This was also a typical convention in Old Kingdom sculpture. However, scholars are most captivated by the Gisr el-Mudir statue’s third figure—a young girl, likely the couple’s daughter, who appears behind her father’s left leg. Unlike the other two figures, she is not fully carved in the round but in bas relief, an artistic style that was unprecedented in Egyptian art at the time and is not known from any other Old Kingdom family statues. The young girl holds a goose in her left arm that may represent food provisions for the afterlife. According to the report, wall paintings in Egyptian tombs often show children bringing food or animals to their parents as sustenance for the hereafter. Experts believe that the artwork likely dates to the 5th Dynasty (ca. 2465–2323 b.c.), although they are not certain because the object lacks proper archaeological context. It had been discarded or dropped into Saqqara’s sands by tomb robbers who had looted nearby burials. To read about a stele uncovered in Abusir that memorializes a 5th Dynasty scribe and his wife, go to "Together Forever."