Royal Torso
Description
Object Label: The nemes-headdress, remains of which are visible on the back and shoulders of this torso, was worn exclusively by Egyptian kings. The slight bend at the elbow suggests that the figure may have been sitting. This sculpture is an example of the great diversity of body types in Egyptian art, which challenges the assumption of an unchanging canon. The broad upper torso, extremely narrow waist, and deep median line of this fragment are features specific to sculptures from the end of the Middle Kingdom. The high polish points to possible reuse of the statue in the Late Period. However, since neither the head nor the inscription survive, the precise identification of the king represented is impossible. Caption: Royal Torso, 1759–1539 B.C.E.. Granite, 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 9 13/16 in. (52 x 52 x 25 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 68.178. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-4o-2024-08-06
Machine-generated from the object's image on May 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
A fragmentary torso of an Egyptian statue missing the head and limbs.
This image depicts a fragmentary torso of an ancient Egyptian statue, likely of a pharaoh or deity, as evidenced by the remnants of a nemes headdress indicated by the textured patterns on the shoulders. The statue is crafted from dark stone and exhibits smooth, idealized musculature typical of royal or divine representations in Egyptian art.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 68.178 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3773 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.