Where Is King Sahure Accompanied by a Divine Figure?

Q: Why is this sculpture unique?

It's the only known three-dimensional representation of King Sahure, the second ruler of Egypt's Dynasty 5 (ca. 2458-2446 BCE). No other surviving sculpture has been identified as this pharaoh.

Q: How heavy is it?

Despite being only half life-size, it weighs 280 pounds (127 kg) because it's carved from gneiss, an extremely dense and hard stone. Carving gneiss required enormous patience and skill.

Q: Who is the smaller figure?

A personification of the Coptite nome (fifth province of Upper Egypt). Egyptian provinces were represented as divine figures accompanying the pharaoh, a convention called nome personification.

Ancient Egyptian King Sahure, the second ruler of Dynasty 5, sits on a throne accompanied by a smaller male figure representing the local god of the Coptite nome (fifth province of Upper Egypt). This is the only known three-dimensional representation of this pharaoh. No other surviving sculpture has been identified as Sahure.

Though only half life-size, the statue weighs 280 pounds (127 kg) due to the density of gneiss, an extremely hard stone. The king wears the nemes headcloth, ceremonial false beard, and protective uraeus cobra on his brow. The smaller divine figure beside him illustrates nome personification, where Egyptian provinces were depicted as deities accompanying the pharaoh.

It dates to around 2458-2446 BCE and stands in Gallery 103 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It's the only known three-dimensional representation of King Sahure, the second ruler of Egypt's Dynasty 5 (ca. 2458-2446 BCE). No other surviving sculpture has been identified as this pharaoh.

Despite being only half life-size, it weighs 280 pounds (127 kg) because it's carved from gneiss, an extremely dense and hard stone. Carving gneiss required enormous patience and skill.

A personification of the Coptite nome (fifth province of Upper Egypt). Egyptian provinces were represented as divine figures accompanying the pharaoh, a convention called nome personification.

King Sahure Accompanied by a Divine Figure

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