Block Statue of Hor
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Object Label
The type of sculpture, known as a block statue, depicts an individual, squatting, wrapped in a cloak from which his head and sometimes hands emerge. Block statues were placed in temples to assure the individual’s perpetual presence at rituals and temple festivals. The cloak on Block Statue of Hor is covered with inscriptions, and one side represents Osiris with his consort Isis, while on the other side their son Horus stands behind a symbol of Osiris. The front of Temple Block Statue of a Man depicts a deceased princess, who once held the office of the God’s Wife of Amun, standing before Osiris.
Caption
Block Statue of Hor, 664–610 B.C.E.. Granite, 7 1/2 x 4 x 5 1/8 in. (19.1 x 10.2 x 13 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 57.66. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.57.66_wwg8.jpg)
Title
Block Statue of Hor
Date
664–610 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 26
Period
Late Period
Geography
Reportedly from: Edfu, Egypt
Medium
Granite
Classification
Dimensions
7 1/2 x 4 x 5 1/8 in. (19.1 x 10.2 x 13 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
57.66
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Hi, I'm looking at this Block statue of Hor (57.66). I understand that these types of sculptures were used by private dedicators in temples, but do we know the social status of the person depicted here (Hor)?
Also, it appears that the figure is holding an object in its right hand. Is there any ideas on what that object is? And is there evidence that the object was ever painted?We don't have much information about this specific block statue but we do know that Hor held several high, priestly titles like "God's Father" and "Scribe in the Temple of Amun." A block statue shows a nonroyal figure—almost always male—sitting on the ground with knees up and arms folded.So would it be safe to say that he was certainly not the status of a Pharaoh, perhaps lending to the block statue form. But important enough to commission a work in black granite.Yes, you are correct.
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