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Fragments of limestone pair statue of Hetepheres II and Meresankh III

Inside the Tomb of Queen Meresankh III were uncovered two beautiful fragments of a statue of the Queen Meresankh and her mother, Queen Hetepheres II. The fragments were found separated in the tomb and later placed together by researchers.

They’re significant in the ancient world because they depict Meresankh and her mother embracing as they do often through the tomb where they were uncovered. This statue is interpreted in the context of the other sculptures found carved into the walls of the tomb, where Meresankh and Hetepheres are also embracing, possibly to emphasize the importance of the mother and daughter relationship and Meresankh’s connection to her female relatives.

The ancient Egyptians created statues for many of the same reasons that we do today: as a visual way to remember the people that lived before and symbol of what was important to them. They may also have help special religious significance where the statue acted and was considered an embodiment of the spirit of the person or god depicted.

Often times, offerings were brought before the sculptures of deities or deceased, and the sculptures themselves were treated well, clothed, fed, and worshiped in other ways.

Details

Sculpture
Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
04/26/1927
Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Height: first fragment: 12 cm; second fragment: 3.5 cm Width: first fragment: 11 cm; second fragment: 7.5 cm Length: second fragment: 13.2 cm Thickness: first fragment: 9 cm
http://giza.fas.harvard.edu/objects/14387/full/
Mastaba G 7530-7540: G 7530, room a
HUMFA_27-4-964h
Limestone
MFA accession number: 30.1456
Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Digital Giza 6 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138
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