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THREE ROYAL SCULPTURES

[Planches 5-6]

B Y

JOHN D. COONEY

A. An OL D KING DOM HEAD

In 1938 the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., acquired on the American market a remarkable example of a royal Egyptian head wearing the White Crown. It was generally assumed to be of the Old Kindom though therc were sonie who thought it morę probably of Dynasty XII (pl. 5, A)¹. At all events, little notice w'as taken of the sculpture until the late Professor George Steindorff published it in a monograph issued by the Freer Gallery in 1951 ². Steindorffs publication was a careful one, identifying the dark grcenish grey medium as diorite (not Chephren diorite) or diabase whilc the cyes w'ere described as outlined with coppcr rims with pupils of marł the latter surely an error as marł is only clay. Possible traces of paint were discovercd under ultraviolet examination. This is improbable as so fine a stone was not likely to be covered with paint. The total height was 58 cm or about 22.8 inches just about lifc-size. Steindorff s conclusion was that the king represented was probably Pepi II. So much for the physical description.

Despite his painstaking care, Steindorff s publication was not a good or convincing one, a fact which may well account for the striking rarity with which this masterly sculpture has been rcproduced sińce his time — now over twenty years. Admittedly, he was beyond his prime when he madę this study, and living at a great distance from Washington he lacked opportunities for constant and rcpeated examination of the objęci. Above all, 1 feel responsible for the attribution to Pepi II, an attribution I have long sińce discarded. The Freer head appeared on the market at the same time and in the same hands as the three royal sculptures of late Dy nasty VI which were acquired by the Brooklyn Museum in 1939. I was convinced, though wilhoul any tangiblc evidence, that the four sculptures were a unit and must all come from the same period. I fear I greatly influenced Steindorff in his finał conclusions and this paper is in sonie part an effort to recompense his reputation for my mistake.

Apart from stylistic characteristics, the most vital detail of this sculpture is the presence ofan incised moustacheon the king’s upper lip. In my opinion this is the clue to the identity of this great work of art. Moustaches, while fairly common on private sculptures of the

1

   Freer Gallery 38.11. I am indebled to Dr. John Popc for permission to publish.

2

   A Royal Head from Ancient Egypt.