One of a pair of model offering bearers from the tomb of the chancellor Meketra at Thebes. Models of female offering bearers were common in tombs of the First Intermediate Period and early Twelfth Dynasty and were the descendants of the female personifications of estates found in Old Kingdom pyramid complexes and private tomb chapels. This figure from the tomb of Meketra is of particularly high quality, with its subtle modeling of the body and skilled application of paint. Made of coniferous wood, the head, body, legs and right foot are carved in one piece with tenons below the feet to attach the figure to the base. The arms and front part of the left foot are made separately and joined by pegs. The whole figure is completely painted, with blue hair (now turned dark green), black eyes and eyebrows, yellow skin, and patterns in red, green, yellow and blue for the jewelry and dress. The wig was plastered before painting; the rest of the figure was painted directly on to the wood. In her right hand the figure carries a duck held by its wings, and on her head she balances a basket of food offerings containing various cuts of beef and different types of loaves and vegetables. The pair to this statue (in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo) carries four jars of drink in her basket, so that between them the two models ensured that Meketra was provided with both food and drink in the afterlife.

Height: 112 cm. Twelfth Dynasty. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art