Mentuherkhepeshef: The Block Symbols

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The block statue is a unique form of Egyptian statuary which first appeared in the Middle Kingdom, but which continually grew in popularity throughout the Second Intermediate period and and the New Kingdom. This particular example depicts Mentuherkhepeshef, the fifth son of the the New Kingdom King Rameses Meriamum (Rameses II). Few biographical details are known about the prince, other than the presence of military titles inscribed on the statue and that he died before being able to succeed his extremely long-live father. The statue was placed among a procession of statues depicting the children of Ramesses II, located in the city of Bubastis at the temple of Bastet, a protective goddess. Despite the subject’s relative anonymity, his statue …show more content…

Though the founder of the Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep II, was able to reunify Upper and Lower Egypt, the rulers of the Middle Kingdom were never able to consolidate and solidify their power to the extent that the kings of the Old Kingdom had done. It follows that they would also be unable to exercise as much power as their predecessors. Because the kings were forced to devote more of their resources to maintaining control over the country, they had less to expend on artistic pursuits, as well as being more preoccupied with more pressing concerns. These kings were unable to replicate the artistic and engineering feats of the Old Kingdom, but rather, without resources comparable to those available in the old kingdom, the artists were often forced to …show more content…

Ramesses II is particularly well known due to the exceptional longevity of his reign and his military campaigns, which he commemorated frequently in his massive campaign of construction projects. The details of his reign can help to shed some light on this cube statue. One of the more unusual aspects of the sculpture is that it was altered after its initial production; both the inscribed hieroglyphics and the side-lock were later additions to a preexisting statue. The reworking of old art is a relatively common phenomenon in Ancient Egyptian culture and there are several possible possible explanations for this distinctive feature. One possible explanation for the refurbishment is that the sculpture was originally made for the prince and was updated at a later date to reflect a change in his status. This hypothesis may explain the addition of the hieroglyphic text, which does give his military titles, but it has significantly less explanatory power with regard to the side-lock. Because the it is a symbol of the royal youths and thus would have been associated with the prince from a young age, it would would be strange if he were to have been originally depicted with a round headdress with the side-lock added

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