Background:

Userkaf was the founder of the 5th dynasty and the cult of sun Re and the solar temples that contained obelisks in their center, built at Abusir. His pyramid was built at Saqqara called El Mekharbish but his burial chamber was completely ruined. The importance of his pyramid lies in the excavation of the huge colossal granite statue, now in the Egyptian museum and the fowling scenes as an example of this habit.

The statue:

It was broken from a statue and is partially damaged in the crown. It was excavated by the German and Swiss institute in 1957. It is made out of grey schist. He is represented with the red crown dSrt. It is partially damaged but the tall upright element is obvious. The broken part may represent the long pillar in the crown. The features are typical of the 5th dynasty; full face, high cheek bones, small mouth, bulging nostrils and firm broad mouth. Eyes are carved in high relief. The statue was first misinterpreted to being the statue of goddess Nieth, goddess of war. This idea was rejected because the following:

<!--The thin moustache upon the upper lip

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His wife is represented sitting beside him wearing a thick hair wig with her real hair appearing on her forehead. The smile on her face reflects her satisfaction. She is represented putting her right hand on his right shoulder embracing him with her other arm as a sign of love. She is wearing a narrow a tight dress with long sleeves. She is represented barefoot.

The children are represented naked with all signs of childhood that it is easy to differentiate between them. They are putting their fingers in their mouth with aside lock of hair. They are painted according to typical ancient Egyptian rules. Their names are inscribed beside them. sA.f anx maA Dd.f ra which means my life is in the hand of jdefre. His daughter sAt.f Awt ib n x.f wy which means happy is the hear of king khufu or happiness is the heart of Khufu. The inscription beside the feet of Senet proves that she is a member of the royal family, mt.f rxt nswt snt which means the royal acquaintance Senet. The names of kings in the children’s names are replaced in cartouches as a respectful manner towards the kings. The title of Seneb is m nTr xw.f w which means the priest of Khufu, m nTr dd.f ra which means the priest of jedefre and m nTr wAdyt which means the priest of goddess wadject, Seneb. The statue is considered a masterpiece because it tells us about dwarfs in ancient Egypt and also shows the skill of the artist in making a balance in the statue.