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XLVI, 30 BULLETIN OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

A Wooden Sta tue of Dynasty VI

sand s of E gy pt have preserved works ofsculpturebetter t han t he soil of any othercountry. This is tru e not only of statue s of dur-able ston e, bu t also of those mad e of wood. How-ever, in the Mus eum's excavations a t Giza woodensculpture has fared badly. Much of it was eatenby white ants or had perished by decay, and onlyone major work of ar t in wood, the s ta tue of M ehyM.F.A. 13.3466), has been recovered from that

site.Conditions have been more favorable at Saq-

qara, t he royal cemetery of Dyna sties V and VI,and a numbe r of well-preserved wooden figureswere discovered there. Th e famous Sheikh elBeled, now in Cairo, is the earliest and perhapsthe most magnificent piece fashioned in a mate rialwhich was always scarce in Egypt and had to beimported from abroad.

Recently the Museum has been fortunate inadding a painted st atu e to its small collection of

wooden scu lpture of th e Old Kingdom. I t showsthe stan ding, or rath er striding , figure of a ma ncomplete with it s base which is inscribed with histitle and the name Me the thy . The statue is saidto h ave come originally from the area south of theSerapeum a t Saqqara.

Head, body, and legs including the heels aremade of a single piece of h ard wood which now hasa dark brown color. Th e arms were carved sep-arately and joined to the body by tenons whichare held in their mortises by means of roundwooden pegs driven th rough holes at th e back ofthe statue. The y do not show in front. The fig-ure is let into the base in th e same way: tenons ex-tending below the heels all the way through the

base hold it in place; they are anchored by hori-zontal pegs, th e squ are ends of which can be seenon either side of the base. Th e front pa rt of thefeet, too, was made separately and joined to thebase by round wooden pins driven in from the top.Th e sta tue is of cedar or some other coniferouswood: the wood of t he base has a coarser grain andis probably of local origin. I t seems to be a re-used block; deep-cut hollows on the sides andbot tom h ave been filled with pieces of wood andplaster to give it a neat appearance.

The passing of almost 4500 years has not leftthis stat ue unscathed. Th e wood has dried com-pletely and, as is so often the case with figures ofthis type, the base and feet have suffered moretha n other part s of th e sculpture. Two deepcracks deface the right side of the head and th usgive it an asymmetry and a noticeable turn whichit did not have in ancient times. The re are otherlongitudin al fissures, especially on th e righ t side ofthe body, in fr ont as well as at the back, whichhave moved the right shoulder backwards; a dis-

Fig. 2 Methethy Dynasty VI

Arthur Tracy Cabot FundAcc No. 47.1455. Height with base) 80 cm. height of base 7.5

cm. length of base 44.5 cm. width of base 17.8 cm. Arthur TracyCabot Fund.


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BULLE TIN OF TH E MUSEUM OF FI NE ARTS XLVI, 31

Fig. 3 Upper Part of Statue of Methethy Dynasty V IArthur Tracy Cabot Fund


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Fig. 4. Side View of Statue of Methethy Dynas ty V IArthur Tracy Cabot Fund


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XLVI. 34 BULLETIN OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

tortion which certainly did not exist originally. gives the impression tha t the fists really grasp theSince the statue reached the Museum these cracks emblematic staves with their slightly roundedhave been filled in with plaster and ha ve been ends. The bent fingers are not articulated, hutpainted the surface color of that particular area in the thumb is remarkably slender and long andorder t o render them less distr actin g, Otherwise great ly increases in width toward the tip. I t sno restoration has been attempted. The joint? of nail has a plain outline, and the cuticle, often in-arms and feet as well as the refilled hollows have dictated on sta tue s of a similar type. is not visible.opened up and thus forced off the ancient. red The short ski rt ends above t h e knee, Its simpleplaster covering unde r which they were originally shap e follows th e line of the figure without reflect-hidden. A piece on the back of the right fist has ing the play oi the muscles which appear so strik-fallen out and the left thumb i s damaged. The ing eIsewhere in the body. As if in contrast to hetoes appear clipped and shriveled: the small toe of even surface of the linen garment th e sculptor hasthe left foot is missing. Judging by the color of tak en great care to render the bone structure ofthe break this may have occurred in antiquity. the knees as naturally as possible, observing such

h e base is badly weathered and somewhat detail as the raised kneecap of the left leg which iswarped so that top and bottom are no longer t ru ly advanced in its stride. The calf of the leg ishorizon tal. sturdy without being plump, arid the shinbone,

Methethy wears a short. curled wig which covers sh arp above, divides the leg evenly before it flat-the ears arid hangs lower at t he back than a t t h e tens out toward the ankle. Th e upper surface ofsides. The forehead with its perceptible vertical the advanced foot appears less flat than t he other,groove recedes. and t he shoat uppe r eyelids Corm a but the bad state of preservation does not permitdistinct angle with t h e well-roundedbrows. This, too exact a judgement here. Remarkably wellcombined with the slight curve of the eyeballs, formed is the outer ankle hone of the left foot, pre-Iends to the face a vivid a n d intense expression. sumably as an indication of the greater weightThe lower lids are not indicated, but the check. carried by that leg. The toes axe separated; thehone has been marked up to the point where t big toe shorter than t he second one, continuesthem e e t s the frontalbone. The nose is straight. and straight line of the instep.the nostrils re sensitively carved, deep line This rather detailed account of the modelingruns down from the base of the nostril past. the seems justified since a search for comparative macorner o f the mouth. The upper lip is divided. terial emphasizes how rarely full descriptions ofThe square chin is set firmly under the full similar figures are encountered. In Methethy'slower lip. statue the s u m total of the finely executed details

The short stocky neck rests on the torso a l - is n happy agreement with the impression of amost without transition. T he shoulders are work of art taken as a whole. Thus he is repre-broad and straight, with sharp collar bones be- sented as a figure not merely stan ding with it s lefttween which an even groove descends to the navel foot advanced, but as a person striding forvvard.without much modulation. th e chest is flat al- his whole body conforming in every part to thethough the iower edges of the bre asts a ppea r underlying conception of the art ist .rounded: at the sides they rise steeply toward th e All Egyptian statues o the Old Kingdom werearmpits. Two round pegs indicate the nipples. painted, arid happily Methethy's figure has pre-but t he areolae have n o t been marked. served a great deal of its original coloring. Ap-

he nape of the neck lies deep between the parently the entire statue was first covered with ashoulder blades. plain groove, following the coat. of reddish-brown color. Trac es of it can bespine to the waist, divides the back. The shoul- found even under the black of the wig and underder blades a re beautifully modeled b y a sickle- the white piaster of the skirt. I n its present stat eshaped depression which repeat s their curved out- the st atue shows darker areas of brown where noline. Otherwise the carving of the back has been paint is preserved, arid regions with a lighter col-clone rather summarily Thus the small of the oring (almost white on the illustrations) where theback appears flat, ant3 only a sharp bend marks red-brown of the skin still exists, 'The wig andthe line on which the buttocks meet the back of eyebrows are black, and the re are traces of w hitethe thighs. Yet, seen in profile. the statue offers on the eyeballs. Iris and pupil are marked by aan attractive outline. circular black spot while a black line on the rim of

Thehigh waist

isaccentuated

by thepro- the eyelids was meant t o accentuate the eye-

nounced muscle above the upper edge of the skirt lashes, a rare but not altogether unknown featurewhich curves down, leaving the upper abdomen of Egyptian statues. spot of white inside thebare. The careful treatment of head and torso is nostrils rounds out what has remained of theequaled by th at of the extremities altho ugh the polychromy of the head.

rms are better carved in front than at the back. Methethy must have had a painted broad collarThe outline of th upper arm is indicated simply. over shoulders and chest of which only a fewbut t he joining of the forearm as well as its main specks of white and lue color are left today . Themuscle a re distinctly modeled and betray close ends of the objects held by the fists are painted aobservation o n the part of the sculptor. This pate yellow, and the same color is found on the


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BULLETIN OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS XLVI, 35

Fig. 6. Skirt of Methethy withOriginal Pleating

thumbnails. Wha t now appears to be the whiteof t he ski rt is actual ly the stucco base on whichthe gala garment was painted. Only on the leftthigh , near th e wrist of th e left ha nd, a piece ofplaster with its original white paint is preserved.It is about 1 16of an inch thick ; therefore the orig-inal layer of plaster m us t have closely resembled agarment worn on the body. I t was, however, no ta plain white skir t; it had a pleated part, paintedyellow, which overlapped the plain section onMeth ethy s right side and ended in front in a widecurve (reconstructed in Fig. 6). There the plas-ter coating still shows the traces of some verticalripples (Fig. 2), and on the right groin in front, aswell as on the back of the right h ip remains ofyellow can be found. Th e skirt had a polychromeborder of yellow and green which served as a belt:its loose end is painted neatly on the body above

the ga rment (Figs. 2, 3, and 6).Th e base was pain ted black. On its left side

the color was applied to a layer of white plasterwhich in turn lies over the red plaster coat with inscription of a certa in Akh-m erut- nesu t (M.F.A.which the su rface of the wood was evened out. 13.4352) who bears the same title, less summarilyThe re are, on several part s of the body, trace s of writt en (Fig. 8). Th e office of Overseer of th ewhite which lie over the red-brown coloring of t he Bureau of Ten ant ry of th e Court. must have beenskin and have yet to be explained. On the fore- of some importance as shown by the sta tue ofhead and on the right shoulder the y may result one Imy-s et-ka y of Dyn ast y VI which bears onlyfrom secondary adjus tment s of the modeling done this ti tle a lthou gh the owner had some twentyin white plaster, and on the feet the y probably other titl es which are duly recorded in the in-were caused by plaster that had fallen from scriptions of his mastab a at Giza. This titlethe skirt. occurs several times in Dyna sty V (ca. 2560-2420

The inscription (Fig. 7) is set in front of the B.C.), and is found frequen tly in Dyn ast y VIright foot in a rectangle which is outlined on three (ca. 2420-2280 B.C.). Thus far the name Meth-

sides. Th e hieroglyphs face right in very shallow eth y has been found only in the case of a subsid-carving witho ut interior lines. The y are ar- iary figure in the chapel reliefs of Akhe t-het ep a tranged in two vertical columns, containing the Saq qara a t the end of Dyn ast y V.Justification formula and the title, and below Stylistically the statue is related to a group ofthem sta nds Meth ethy s name, writte n horizon- wooden figures which range from the close of Dy -tally. Th e inscription reads: im hw hr ntr nasty V well into Dynast y V I Among them areimy-r; st hntyw-spr-; Mtty. Justified before Cairo 152, Cairo 154, Cairo 370, th at of Ka-em-the Gre at God, the Overseer of the Bureau of Ten - senu in New York, th at of Per-h er-no fret inantr y of the Court, Methethy. Th e proper Berlin, and the statue s from the recently discov-reading of the elaborate title is made clear by the ered tom b of anoth er Akhet -hete p at Saq qar a.

Fig. 7 Inscription on Base of Statue


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been state d above that the stat ue is said to havebeen foun d south of the Serapeum, a n area whichlies only a few hund red yar ds west of t he mas tab achapel of Akhet-hetep . One is therefo re temp tedto assume that the two names refer to the sameperson although they are accompanied by dif-fere nt titles in each case, and th at t he owner ofthe wooden st atu e was buried not far from thetomb of one of t he grea t nobles of t he tim e towhose entourage he had belonged in his youngeryears.

B E R N A R D V. BOTHMER

The Vicar o Boldre1724 1804

after 1750 when Gi lbert Whit e of Sel-

alists Calendar later made par t of his greatclassic, a brother parson, th e Rev. William Gilpin,Vicar of Boldre in th e New Fores t, commenced t otake notes, innocently enough, too, on prints andprint collecting. Hesitant because they werevery far from being so perfect as he could havewished, he published the m anonymously in 1768as n Es s a y Upon Prints . Gilpin was moreovera n enthus iasti c lover of n at ur e and a skilleddraughtsman, and is remembered also for nu-merous books on picturesque scenery anti travel,illustrated by aquatints from his own sketches.

His little manua l on print collecting was at oncea success and quickly sold out. Within a monthor two a second edition appear ed; a thi rd followedin 1781 with the authors name, the simpler titleof A n Es s a y on Prints and a dedication to HoraceWalpole. Fou rth and fifth editi ons were issued inI792 and 1802,while on the continent where tast ehad always been entrenched above paltry con-noisseurship it was translated into German,Dutch, and French.

The volume was concise and well written, itsapproach fresh and personal. I t judged prints bystrict canons of pictorial ar t, not by t he amateurswhims or values. Having a painters eye andlong practice in drawing, Gilpin understood therules of design and composition. One by one hedefined them, showed how they applied to bothengraving and painting, and named an d comparedexamples t o support his arguments. Obviouslyhis remarks were no t addressed to experienced col-lectors like Sir Joshua Reynolds, Tho mas Hudson,Sir John St. Aubyn, Robert Udney, or John

Thane. He did not even pretend th at all his com-ments were new or original; but he may fairlyclaim t o have fulfilled his intention of putting th eelegant amus emen t of collecting prin ts on a morerational footing.

The most useful handbook in English beforeGilpins E ssay was SculpturaHistorico-Technicaor the History and Art of Engraving an omniumgatherum fro m many sources published in 1747.But more interesting as an expression of the age

bornebegan to keep his Garden or Natur

Fig. 8. Title ofAkh-merut-nesut

These have much in common with the figur e of

Metheth y as far as att itude , modeling, a nd dressare concerned, b ut in general thei r style seems tohave been taken over from sculpture in stonewhile tha t of M eth eth y shows certain character-istics which point to a technique more adapted towood tha n to stone. His sta tue is smaller th anthose mentioned above, and the eyebrows, beltbuckle, and the loose end of the skirt have notbeen carved in relief, but were painted on thewood. The delicate treatme nt of the surface and,to name only one striking feat ure , the over-elongated thum b appear to lend a new refinementto a well-established type of statue. Ther e is noreason t o believe tha t thi s is to be foun d before th eend of Dynasty V although it may not have been

long after the beginning of Dynasty VI t ha tMethethys statue was created.This conclusion suggests that a further exam-

ination should be made of the occurrence ofMethethys name in the chapel of Akhet-hetep atSaqqara which has been d ated to the end of Dy-nasty V. There, the bearer of that name has onlythe titles Judge and Scribe which occur com-monly at th at period and designate men who havenot yet reached a rank of importance. It has

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