Steward_Senbi

The Steward Senbi Introduction The Steward Senbi statue was obtained from the pit tomb in the necropolis at Meir in Middle Egypt. Meir was developed for the monarchs and high officials of the 14th upper Egyptian Nome (James 89). The statue is made of wood with copper inlays. The body of the figure was carved from one piece of wood, with the arms and front parts of the feet attached separately. The portrait represents the youth and wealthy status of the Senbi. Senbi, the son of Ukhhotep, was a member of a dynasty of nobles in the Middle Egypt during the Twelfth Dynasty. During the reign of Amenemhet I of Dynasty XII Senbi held the hereditary position of Nomarch and ‘Overseer of Priests’ (Bayfield). Nomarchs were influential not only locally but nationally too (James 89). Description The subject is standing in a wooden cube and represents the classic pose of a man in the Early Dynasty 12. The wooden cube has some writings on it. Made of costly imported wood, it was left unpainted to reveal the grain. The only additions of color are the painted and inlaid eyes and nipples and the long white kilt. The white color of the kilt and the orange/brownish color of the body give natural appearance to the statue. Some dark cuts can be clearly seen in his head and body. There is a crack to the left side of the nipple and toward the head. The body is made from one piece of wood but the arms and half of the feet were made separately and attached to the main body. The quality of the work indicates that the artist took a lot of time to carefully carve the statue. The smoothness and precision of the various parts of the body structures made it possible by using sharp tools and polishing the statue. The face, upper and lower body was smoothly carved from the wood. The wood grains are visible. The shape of his forehead and face is comparatively small and round. His eyebrows are thin and light but the color is faded. He has straight, thick lashes that are brushed with black color. The large widened eyes are almond-shaped and are made with white crystal and black past iris which give more realism to the figure. The eye sockets are made by using a copper alloy. He has a narrow, pointed nose with a wide mouth and full lips that capture a gentle face. The subject’s arms are close to his body and thumbs are faced down and fingers are clutched together. His arms are around the same size as the legs and the arms appear much larger than the small torso. The finger nails are polished white on his hands but nails on his feet are not clearly visible. The man has short neck and a broad shoulder. The man is also completely bald, which shows great craftsmanship in which it appears at sight extremely smooth. The statue also shows no apparent facial hair or beard. The slight elevation of the chest area appears like the pectorals muscles and gives a realistic look to the statue. The two nipples are painted in black. His navel is round and painted white. There is notable black mark near by his navel. The stomach is curved. The subject wears a long kilt that is below the knee. The kilt is painted white. His left leg is thicker compare to the right leg. His knees are bent but one of his legs is in front of the other leg which indicates a walking position. Purpose This Statue was found in a tomb along with other materials. It was believed that the ka, a kind of shadowy double that was born with him and lived through life with him, survived death and could reside in an image, particularly a statue (Ruffle 199). In the after-life, the ba was thought of as a human-headed bird. The ba leave the body at death and return to it after the funeral, then use the body or substitute statue as a base from which it could travel to the outer world, returning to the tomb at night. Therefore, this statue was made for the death person to use as a medium in the afterlife. Comparison between middle kingdom and Old Kingdom Kilt The garment/dresses worn by Egyptian men of all classes and throughout every time period was a wraparound skirt, usually called a “kilt”. It consisted of a rectangular piece of linen wrapped around the body and tied at the waist with a knot or fastened with a sort of buckle (Lyn). The kilt varied in length and width. The kilt went from the waist to the knee or below. During the Old Kingdom, people wore a belt tied around the waist and the kilt that reached just above the knee with the ends hanging in front. At the beginning of the Old Kingdom, King Narmer is shown in a usual kilt. In the Middle Kingdom, men began to wear longer and larger outfits which stretched from the diaphragm to mid-calf (Lyn). Comparison between stone statue, Menkaure and Khamerernebty and wood statue, The Steward Senbi Throughout most of the history of ancient Egypt, wood statues have appeared alongside with the stone statues. Wood working developed with the use of copper tools in the early dynastic period. Several examples include chisels, awls, axes, and adzes found from the old kingdom tombs (Ruffle 166). Egyptian sculptors used stone as the primary material for funerary statuary during old kingdom. However, the main content of the tombs were represented in wooden models during the middle kingdom (Silverman 219). Stone statues of human figures were usually very condensed, supported by a back support and all spaces filled up. This gave the impression of a very heavy, solid, stern and formal pose of the figure. For example, the portrait of Menkaure and Khamerernebty from Old kingdom gives the impression of a rigid and formal pose. This sculpture remains wedded to the stone block from which they were carved and has no space between their arms. The statue is not a realistic portrait but an idealized likeness of the human royal image (Silverman 216). Both figures exhibit bodies which represent the youthful idea for their sex, the king with broader shoulders and slightly more developed musculature than his wife. Although the queen embraces the king, with an arm around his waist and a hand on his arm, the expression by both figures are rather emotionless. The couples gaze indicates as if they are looking ahead at an eternal beyond. On the other hand, wooden statues of human figures normally had no back rest or support. For example, the spaces between the limbs were open in the statue Steward Senbi. The figures appeared lighter and more natural because of the open spaces and lack of back support. However, the pose was still formal like the old kingdom statues. One common element used in both these statues is that the sculptors placed figures rigidly frontal with the arms hanging straight down and close to body and balanced weight of the figure on both legs. Bibliography Ruffle, John. The Egyptians: An Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology. Ithaca: Phaidon press limited, oxford, 1977. 199. Print. James, T.G.H. Ancient Egypt: The Land and Its Legacy. Austin: University of Texas press, 1988. 89. Print (James 219) Silverman, David. Ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 219. Print. (Silverman 219) Lyn Green "Clothing and Personal Adornment" The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Ed. Donald B. Redford. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt: (e-reference edition). Oxford University Press. CUNY Hunter College. 10 May 2010 http://www.oxford-ancientegypt.com/entry'entry=t176.e0143 Bayfield, Su. "Meir." Egyptian Monuments. wordpress, 12022009. Web. 15 May 2010. .