The Egyptian Museum

The Middle Kingdom Monuments

The statue of Mentuhotep II

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Background:

He was one of the most important kings of the 11th dynasty. His origin is from Thebes thus arouse the importance of the city and it became the center of art and power and the center of the cult of Re. Before his reign Egypt was divided into Upper and Lower Egypt. His family ruled in Upper Egypt. His ruling period was almost 51 years. 41 years of this period he acted as ruler of Upper Egypt and the remaining 10 he ruled Egypt in general. Thus, he is considered the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt which is one of his titles. The meaning of his name Mentohotep is god Mento is happy. Mento is the local god of war. He was named after a local god because of two opinions. Either because he came from a family who are considered great warriors or because during this period local governors gained too much power thus people concentrated on local deities. He was the first to build in Deir El Bahari sight before Queen Hatshepsut and the first to use the elevated terraces design. His tomb was discovered by Howard Carter while he was riding his horse and it stumbled at the entrance thus it was called Bab El Hosan. His famous statue exhibited in the Egyptian Museum was found in his tomb buried ritually in a chamber under the terrace.

Title of Mentohotep II:

mnt Htp: god Montu is happy

nb Hpt ra: lord of the oars of Re

anx ib tAwy: the heart of the two lands

Hr smA tAwy: Horus the unifier of the lands

Hr nTr HD: Horus is wearing the mortal white crown

The statue:

It is maid out of painted sand stone. He is represented wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt dSrt although he is from Upper Egypt. This is to satisfy the people of Lower Egypt and to show them that he is their ruler. He is wearing the Hb sd garment but it is knee high and not covering his legs. The garment is white. There is an opinion that says that the contrast between the red color of the crown and the white color of the garment reflects the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. The statue is not represented in an ideal way. The body is disproportioned this may be because Egypt was coming out of a period of decline in all aspects which was the 1st Intermediate period. Literature was the only artistic aspect that didn’t face decline like the rest of arts because people used to express themselves through literature. One of the famous examples of literature that refers to that period is The Story of The Eloquent Peasant. Even tombs were not well built. The facial features of the statue are not ideal. He is looking into the horizon. His eyes are not inlaid they are carved and lined with khol. The eye brows are carved in high relief and elongated as the eye itself. His face is not very well represented but it is better than the rest of the body. He is featured with a slight smile which is a sign of humanity since during the decline period of Egypt people lost the divine concept of their kings. The strong face, heavy mouth and broad nose are features of the provincial style. His false beard is turned up which is a feature of the god especially Osiris. Along with his crossed hands some scholars believe that he is represented in Osirid form. Others refuse his Osirid form because he is not in a mummy form although the garment resembles the coffin but it is short. Thus, this could be considered as a semi Osirid form. The sculptor avoided represented the details of the body by the garment. His hands might have been holding some kind of scepter or insignia may be the nHH and the HkA. His legs are obese in contrast to the rest of the body although he is represented as a chubby man. The sculptor was not skillful enough in his representation of the legs. He gave attention to the facial features due to the ancient Egyptian concept of the recognition of the ba to the person. The statue is represented in the black color for the following:

<!--Black is the color of Egypt and the mud of the Nile

<!--He may have been represented in Osirid form

<!--This is a funerary statue represented death which is associated with the sunset and the darkness

<!--He was from Upper Egypt and had a Nubian Origin

<!--Identified with god Anubis

He is represented seated on a backless throne. One of his titles is nb Hpt ra Lord of the oars of Re. the statue was covered with a piece of linen