This seated figure represents an Egyptian priest or official. He sits in the traditional pose for a funerary portrait, with one hand resting on his chest, and the other hand in his lap. He wears a close-fitting ankle-length robe which became the commonplace for private Egyptian funerary portraiture from the mid-Twelfth Dynasty (1991 BC – 1802 BC) onwards. He wears a complicated thick double-layered wig that reveals his high status. His face is exceptionally finely carved. He has limpid almond-shaped eyes, outlined in kohl, with slender eyebrows. His high, round cheeks frame his delicate nose, and a slight smile plays on his lips. His face is in the oval style associated with the Rammeside Period. Statues of this type are known from the Middle Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom; a fine example can be found in the British Museum (EA1785).

Apart from the quality of this piece, it is unusual for the range and variety of religious symbols carved into it. On the left shoulder is Khepresh, the scarab beetle god, with one wing that extends across the chest. Across his lap is a ram, symbolic of the god Khnum. The association with this god can be determined from the long twirling horns that extend from the side of the head, identifying this species as Ovis longipes palaeoagytiaca. The front of his legs sports an unusual deity, with the body of a cobra and the head of a bull. He is probably a local god, associated with a particular town or locality with which this man was associated. On the sides of his throne is a vignette in which the owner of the statue makes an offering to the falcon-headed god Ra, seated on a throne. This offering scene dates this statue to the New Kingdom; in previous centuries, there were restrictions on the depiction of non-royal offerings and so very few examples exist.

This statue probably sat on the altar in the owner’s tomb chapel. It served as a repository for the ka, or soul, of the owner. After death, the ka roamed free across the earth, but required a physical body or a surrogate to return to as a permanent home. It was only if such a statue existed that the ka could receive the offerings that would nourish it after death. Because the Egyptians believed that statues could magically perceive the world, they were ritually brought to life through a procedure known as the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. In this ceremony, a priest would touch the mouth, eyes and ears of the statue with various special tools. This statue is an exquisite example of the art of the funerary chapel.

References: similar tomb statues can be found in London (British Museum EA1785).