Statuette of a Cloaked Figure

Late Twelfth Dynasty sculptors introduced a new subject: the male figure wearing a full-length, enveloping cloak. This new form—demonstrated by the example seen here—may reflect a sense of introspection evident in later Middle Kingdom texts, or it could refer to Osiris, god of the dead, who was buried in mummy bandages. An example of the block statue—a form developed shortly before the cloaked statue—is exhibited nearby.