King menkaure statue
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Menkaure Dyad
Date
Egyptian fourth Dynasty (Old Kingdom), 2613-2465 BC
Artist or Workshop
unknown
Materials
Greywacke with traces of paint
Height of the work
142.2 cm tall
Provenience
Egypt, Giza, Menkaure Valley Temple, thieves' hole, corridor III 4
Current Location
Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts, US
Sitter Biography
Menkaure was an ancient Egyptian king of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He became famous for his tomb, the Pyramid of Menkaure at Giza. He is thought to have at least two wives and not many children. His exact amount of years reigned is uncertain. Menkaure's pyramid at Giza was called Netjer-er-Menkaure which means "Menkaure is Divine". This pyramid is the smallest of the three Royal pyramids.
Description and Significance
Description:
This dyad shows King Menkaure standing next to a woman, who wraps her arms around him affectionately or protectively. This standing pair is showing the figures in an active striding pose, while still being static. The pose is conveying both action and stasis. The
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Pyramid of Menkaure
Smallest main pyramid of Giza in Egypt
The pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three main pyramids of the Giza pyramid complex, located on the Giza Plateau in the southwestern outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. It is thought to have been built to serve as the tomb of the Fourth Dynasty King Menkaure.
Size and construction
Menkaure's pyramid had an original height of 65.5 meters (215 ft), and was the smallest of the three major pyramids at the Giza Necropolis. It now stands at 61 m (200 ft) tall with a base of 108.5 m (356 ft). Its angle of incline is approximately 51°20′25″. It was constructed of limestone and Aswan granite. The upper portion was cased in the normal manner with Tura limestone. The construction of the outer casing of the pyramid was halted at sixteen to eighteen layers of granite following Menkaure's death, only seven of which remain today due to vandalism and erosion.[2][3] Part of the granite was left in the rough.
The descending passage to lower burial chamber is in the 'large a
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Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe
The statue of the Pharaoh Menkaure (Mycerinus) and his Queen in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, carved out of slate and dating to 2548-2530 BCE, is an example of Old Kingdom 4th Dynasty royal sculpture. The statue, which stands about 4 feet 8 inches high, was found in a hole dug earlier by treasure-hunters below the floor of a room in the Valley Temple of the pyramid of Menkaure at Giza during excavations undertaken by the Harvard University and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston expedition under the direction of the archaeologist George Reisner in 1908-10. On January 18, 1910, digging revealed the heads of the statue; the following day the pair was completely unearthed [see George Reisner, 1931 in the BIBLIOGRAPHY].
Statue of Menkaure and His Queen unearthed on January 18, 1910
Image Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
In art history books, the pair have come to represent a prime example of Old Kingdom royal tomb sculpture. The statue exhibits with satisfying clarity the Egyptian adherence to a system or "canon
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