Photographer:
Title:
| The Dwarf Seneb and His Family |
Description:
|
Dwarfs were respected members of society in
ancient Egypt and often attained high positions
at court. The dwarf Seneb, for example, who has
been known for many years from his splendid
statue in the Cairo Museum, was chief of all the
dwarfs who were responsible for the royal
wardrobe. He was also a priest involved in the
funerary cults of Khufu and Djedefre. It is
known from inscriptions on the false door of his
tomb that he was a wealthy man who owned cattle.
His statue depicts him sitting cross-legged in
the position of a scribe, indicating that he was
an educated man. Seneb's wife, Senetites, sits
beside him with her arm affectionately around
his shoulders, in typical Old Kingdom style.
Funerary statues project an ideal view of the
deceased, so the sculptor has sensitively
disguised his deformity, ingeniously
compensating for his short stature by placing
his two children where his legs would otherwise
have been. |
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