Where Is The King's Acquaintances Memi and Sabu?

Q: Why is this statue special?

Memi returns his wife's embrace, draping his arm around her shoulders. Most Old Kingdom pair statues show only the woman touching the man. This mutual affection is rare and was one reason scholars recently redated the statue to Dynasty 4.

Q: What is a serdab?

A hidden statue chamber inside an Egyptian tomb chapel. The pair statue was placed there as a spiritual anchor, giving the deceased's soul a physical form to inhabit. A small slit in the wall allowed offerings to reach the statue.

Q: Where can I see it?

Gallery 103 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's painted limestone from Dynasty 4 (ca. 2575-2465 BCE), weighing 28.8 kg.

Ancient Egyptian A painted limestone pair statue of Memi and his wife Sabu, standing side by side in a mutual embrace. Their title "King's Acquaintances" means they had access to the royal court during Egypt's Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4 (ca. 2575-2465 BCE).

The pose is unusual because Memi returns Sabu's embrace by draping his arm around her shoulders, showing a rare level of mutual affection in Old Kingdom sculpture. Most pair statues of this era show the woman touching the man but not the reverse. Scholars recently redated this piece from Dynasty 5-6 to Dynasty 4 based on Sabu's hairstyle and the reciprocated embrace.

It was placed in a serdab (hidden statue chamber) inside their tomb chapel, serving as a spiritual anchor for the deceased. It weighs 28.8 kg and stands in Gallery 103 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Memi returns his wife's embrace, draping his arm around her shoulders. Most Old Kingdom pair statues show only the woman touching the man. This mutual affection is rare and was one reason scholars recently redated the statue to Dynasty 4.

A hidden statue chamber inside an Egyptian tomb chapel. The pair statue was placed there as a spiritual anchor, giving the deceased's soul a physical form to inhabit. A small slit in the wall allowed offerings to reach the statue.

Gallery 103 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's painted limestone from Dynasty 4 (ca. 2575-2465 BCE), weighing 28.8 kg.

The King's Acquaintances Memi and Sabu

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