Cleveland Museum of Art

Seated Scribe of Medthu

Date

c. 1479–1425 BCE

Medium

limestone, originally painted

Culture

Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Tuthmosis III (1479–1425 BCE)

Department

Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Medthu, the overseer of the two granaries and scribe of accounts of the fields of Amen, sits cross-legged on the ground in the traditional pose of a scribe. His striated, bell-shaped wig, the stripes of which run parallel to his forehead, completely reveals his ears and passes behind his shoulders. His short, belted kilt is stretched tight to support he papyrus that is partly unrolled across his lap. He holds the rolled-up portion with his left hand, and his right hand rests flat on the papyrus, which curls around his right thigh. The papyrus is inscribed in sunk relief with seven columns of hieroglyphs that face the scribe. The Middle Kingdom type of wig helps date the statue more closely to the earlier part of Dynasty 18, around the time of Tuthmosis III. Later in Dynasty 18 the coiffure was fashionably updated. The scribe statue has a long and distinguished history, having first appeared in Dynasty 4 (c. 2613 to 2494 BC).

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