Statue of Kaaper (Sheikh el-Balad)

Ancient Egyptian Kaaper (also called Sheikh el-Balad) is an ancient Egyptian official rendered in sycamore wood with extraordinary realism. Created around 2450 BCE, the 112-centimeter statue depicts a portly middle-aged man striding forward, his round face and double chin suggesting comfortable prosperity rather than athletic idealism. Workers who excavated the statue in the 1860s nicknamed it "Sheikh el-Balad" (village chief) because it resembled their own mayor.

The sculpture's wooden construction allowed details impossible in stone: the weight of the body shifts naturally, the arms (carved separately) swing free from the torso, and the now-missing staff would have completed the striding pose. Rock crystal and white-painted copper create startlingly lifelike inlaid eyes. Originally, the wood was covered with painted linen to hide joins and add color.

Kaaper now stands in the Grand Egyptian Museum, one of the finest wooden sculptures surviving from the ancient world.