<em>Head of a King</em>, ca. 2650–2600 B.C.E. Granite, 22 × 12 × 13 in. (55.9 × 30.5 × 33 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 46.167. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 46.167_front_PS22.jpg)

Head of a King, ca. 2650–2600 B.C.E. Granite, 22 × 12 × 13 in. (55.9 × 30.5 × 33 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 46.167. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 46.167_front_PS22.jpg)

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May I have some information about this head?

This head depicts a king, that much we know for certain based on the type of crown he's wearing. It was made around the time of the Great Pyramids or a little earlier. It is possible that this dead depicts a king named Huni who ruled in the latter part of the 3rd Dynasty.

It's made of granite, an extremely hard stone to carve. Even though we don't know where specifically it stood, or whom exactly it represented, we can still have a sense of what its purpose would have been. A larger-than-life size statue in granite like this one likely comes from a temple or a funerary site.

In what year was this carved?

This head is over 4,600 years old! It was carved somewhere between 2650-2600 B.C.E. This would be the late 3rd or early 4th Dynasty in Egypt. It is about the same age as the Great Step Pyramid!

Is there a reason why so many noses are missing on the sculptures?

There are two reasons for the missing noses. First, noses protrude from the face of a statue, which makes them easier to fall off. Similar things happen to the hands and ears of sculptures, for example.

The second ties into ancient Egyptian beliefs and the purpose for the statues in the first place! Statues were able to house the spirits of the deceased so by ritually "killing" the statue, one could stop the process. Smashing off the nose or scratching out the name are two ways of "killing" a statue.

That could happen anytime after a statue was completed. We know from records that, when Christianity took hold in Egypt, groups of Christian monks would go around "killing" statues, believing that spirits of gods or the deceased were demonic.

That makes sense. Thought I had heard that before. Thank you!

Head of a King

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Granite is extremely hard, but the sculptor of this statue was able to give the king’s plump face and small features a softly natural quality, perhaps suggesting the subject’s actual appearance rather than an idealized version. Originally, this fragment surmounted an oversize figure, achieving the same monumental quality as the pyramids being built at this time.

MEDIUM Granite

Place Made: Egypt

DATES ca. 2650–2600 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 3 to early Dynasty 4

PERIOD Old Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 22 × 12 × 13 in. (55.9 × 30.5 × 33 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 46.167

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Prior to 1921, provenance not yet documented; before 1921, acquired by Louis Herse of Alexandria, Egypt; 1921, purchased in Paris, France from Louis Herse by Theodore Pitcairn of Bryn Athyn, PA; October 10, 1946, purchased from Theodore Pitcairn by the Brummer Gallery, New York, NY; October 24, 1946, purchased from the Brummer Gallery (N6669) by the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Colossal red granite head of a king in white crown. Broad features, eyes without paint stripes, no uraeus on crown, no beard. At the back of the neck a line indicating the top of a cloak which suggests that the head may be from a Heb-sed statue. Condition: The tip of the crown is missing; also the end of the nose. Small chips from the right eye an upper lip; right ear weathered; minor weathering and chipping elsewhere on the surface but on the whole the preserved potion is in good condition. The break at the neck is irregular.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Head of a King, ca. 2650–2600 B.C.E. Granite, 22 × 12 × 13 in. (55.9 × 30.5 × 33 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 46.167. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 46.167_front_PS22.jpg)

IMAGE front, 46.167_front_PS22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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