Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 2.djvu/209

Sculpture under the Ancient Empire. of Nesa, who is called a relation of the king, and was, in all pro- bability, the wife of Sepa (Fig. 172). These statues were of soft limestone. Both man and woman have black wigs with squared ends, w^hich descend, in the case of the former, to the shoulders, in that of the latter, to the breasts. Sepa holds a long staff in his left hand, and in his right the sceptre called pat, a sign of authority. His only robe is a plain scJicnti, a kind of cotton breeches fastened round his waist bv a band. His trunk and leo^s are bare, and the latter are only half freed from the stone in which they are carved. Nesa is dressed in a long chemise with a trian- gular opening between the breasts. Upon her arms she has bracelets composed of twelve rings. In each figure the wig, the pupils, eyelids, and eyebrows, are painted black, while there is a green stripe under the eyes. The bracelets are also green. De Rouge asserted boldly that these were the oldest statues in the world.^ He believed them to date from the third dynasty, and his successors do not think he exaggerated ; they would perhaps give the works in question an even more venerable age. This impression of great antiquity is not caused by the short inscriptions on the plinths. The well-carved hieroglyphs which compose them are in relief, but this peculiarity is found in monu- ments of the fourth and fifth dynasties. The physiognomies and general style of the figures are much more significant. They betray an art whose aims and instincts are well developed, although it has not yet mastered its mechanical processes. The sculptor knows thoroughly what he wants, but his hand still lacks assurance and decision. He has set out upon the way which will be trodden with ever-increasing firmness by his successors. He follows nature faithfully. Observe how frankly the breadth of Sepa's shoulders is insisted upon, how clearly the collar-bones and the articulations of the knees are marked. The rounded contours of Nesa's thighs betray the same sincerity. x d yet there is a certain timidity and awkwardness in the group which becomes clearly perceptible when we compare it with works in its neigh- bourhood which date from the fifth dynasty. The workmanship lacks freedom, and the modelling is over-simplified. The arms, which elsewhere are laid upon the knees, or, in the case of the ^ Notice des Monuments exposes dans la Gakric d'A?;tiqtutls Egyptienncs, Salle dn Fez-de-chaiisse et Palier de TEscalier, 1875, P- 26. VOL. II. B B