Sophie Guarino- King Menkaura and queen

This Egyptian sculpture was of King Menkaura (mycerinus) and queen. This sculpture is one of the finest pieces of Egyptian sculptures known. This pair statue came to light in a trench in the king’s Valley Temple. Many sculptures were ritually buried in the temple area after they were no longer used. These two images are representative of the idealized concept of the monarchy in Egypt’s classical, or pyramid age. The superlative craftsmanship is evident in both faces and the rendering of the knee and leg musculature. The queen’s knees are softly portrayed through her full length garment. Even though this statue was set up in the temple, the statue was never completely  finished as can be seen by the roughness of the base and the back. The details of the costume were finished in paint, faint traces of which still remain.  I picked this sculpture because the texture and the details of the faces looked very interesting. The Egyptians used the color black because they thought the afterlife was very cool.