Origin: Egypt
Circa: 2323 BC to 2152 BC
Dimensions: 18.125" (46.0cm) high x 12" (30.5cm) wide
Collection: Egyptian
Style: 6th Dynasty
Medium: Limestone
The image depicts an elite member of Egyptian society who was the owner of the tomb from which this forceful vignette came. The owner is represented seated on a luxurious chair, designed with a curvilinear bolster-like back, and feline feet themselves resting upon inverted conical casters decorated with a series of concentric rings. In keeping with ancient Egyptian conventions, the tomb owner is bare- chested and, presumably, bare footed. He wears a simple, undecorated linen kilt, wrapped around his waist and secured into place with a belt. His accessories are limited to a broad collar, its multiple strands symbolically representing floral forms from which such attributes were originally crafted. He wears a short, bobbed wig arranged with parallel rows of short, tightly styled curls.
The tomb owner is shown facing to the left and is holding one attribute in each hand. In general, only depictions of standing tomb owners represent them holding an object in each hand; seated depictions are generally shown holding only one attribute, and that attribute is usually a staff traditionally held in the hand of the elevated far arm, as it is indeed held in our relief. Our tomb owner appears to be holding a second attribute in his lowered hand as well. This attribute may perhaps to be identified as a shorter baton. The staff and baton are standard attributes for elite male members of Egyptian society during the Old Kingdom. Although rare, there are parallels for seated tomb owners holding a baton in one hand and a staff in the other from this period.

Antiquities
Ancient Egyptian