Headless Statuette of a Scribe
Description
Object Label: The Egyptians valued literacy even more than physical strength or military prowess. Individuals wishing to immortalize their wisdom and education frequently commissioned statues of themselves as scribes, professional men whose income derived from their great learning rather than physical labor. Images of scribes seated with papyrus rolls in their laps were placed in tombs as early as the Fourth Dynasty (circa 2625–2500 B.C.E.). Caption: Headless Statuette of a Scribe, ca. 1938–1875 B.C.E.. Gneiss, 6 7/16 x 4 13/16 x 5 9/16 in. (16.4 x 12.3 x 14.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 73.87.1. (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.
Fragment of a seated statue missing its head and feet.
The artifact is a fragmentary statue carved from a speckled stone, depicting a seated figure with arms resting on the knees. The style suggests it might have been part of a larger statue, typical of Egyptian art showcasing seated figures. The arms and legs are simplified with minimal detailing. The head and lower legs of the statue are missing.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 73.87.1 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3826 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.