Statue of a Priest of Amun
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
The statue of a priest of Amun shown here has an idealizing face in the style of the fourth century B.C. yet wears a Twenty-sixth Dynasty version of an Old Kingdom wig and is based typologically on Twenty-sixth Dynasty sculptures inspired by much earlier works. Despite these archaizing tendencies, it also displays a Thirtieth Dynasty innovation in statuary: the depiction of gods (here Amun, Mut, and Khonsu) on the top of the back pillar. Idealization is equally apparent in the two heads and the small statuette of Hor. The latter has some distinction. It is the earliest reasonably well dated sculpture with an egg-shaped cranium, an artistic detail that became common in the fourth century B.C.
MEDIUM
Diorite
DATES
381–362 B.C.E.
DYNASTY
Dynasty 30
PERIOD
Late Period
DIMENSIONS
20 1/16 x 6 1/4 x 5 1/2 in., 30 lb. (51 x 15.9 x 14 cm, 13.61kg)
Mount: 6 x 6 x 6 in. (15.2 x 15.2 x 15.2 cm)
height of object on block: 26 1/4 in. (66.7 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
52.89
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Statue in polished black stone (diorite?) of a standing man, name lost, a priest of Amen. Conventional composition, left leg advanced, arms at sides with hands clenching small, cylindrical staffs; plain kilt, curled wig. Deep rear pillar bearing at top relief of the Theban Triad followed by three columns and one line of epithets of triad. Below are three incomplete columns of inscriptions of deceased. Base and lower legs missing. All surfaces, except wig, polished
Condition: Legs missing below knees. Otherwise intact.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Statue of a Priest of Amun, 381–362 B.C.E. Diorite, 20 1/16 x 6 1/4 x 5 1/2 in., 30 lb. (51 x 15.9 x 14 cm, 13.61kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 52.89. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 52.89_front_PS22.jpg)
IMAGE
front, 52.89_front_PS22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and
we welcome any additional information you might have.
Can you tell me some information about this artwork?
Sure! We know this man was a priest of Amun from the inscription on the back pillar. The style of the status is indicative of a later period in Egyptian history, but his clothing and hair replicate styles popular thousands of years earlier.
Diorite and other hard, dark stones were valued for Egyptian sculpture because of the way the details carved into them appear very clearly.
What is the term that describes the kind of pictorial writing found on these statues?
In general, the writing on the pieces you'll see in the galleries can all be referred to as Egyptian hieroglyphs or simply hieroglyphs, the writing system used in ancient Egypt.
