FREE ESSAY ON STATUE OF KING CHEPHREN

STATUE OF KING CHEPHREN

The extraordinary statue of King Chephren is a masterpiece of sculpture in the round. This
work is 168cm tall, 96cm long and 57cm wide, which was the approximate size of the king.
The artist who created this sculpture is unknown, as it was found when Mariette's workmen
were exploring the favissa of Chephren's valley temple in 1860. The statue was built
during the reign of King Chephren, which historians estimate lasted from 2540-2505 BC.
The statue is a cut block of Diorite, a granular crystalline igneous rock. This work can
be found in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (Ground Floor, room 42), or if you are unable to
visit Cairo, images of the work can be found in the Official Catalogue of The Egyptian
Museum of Cairo (pages 64,65)
Chephren was the son of Cheops. The enthroned king rests one hand flat on his knee while
he holds a folded piece of material in the other. He wears a nemes headdress with pleaded
lappets. Attached to his chin is the sign of his dignity, the ceremonial beard. He is
also dressed in a shendjyt, a type of short pleated kilt. Two lions support the king's
seat, one on each side. The two lions are to provide the king with both power and
protection. On each side of the throne the motif of the unity of the two lands, or
sema-tawy, is etched in high relief. The sema-tawy, is composed of the heraldic plants of
the Two Lands. Lilies, for the south, and papyrus, for the north, are knotted around the
hieroglyphic sign for 'union'.
The statue of King Chephren contains implied detail, meaning that very few lines in the
right positions can make up for a completely textured work. This feature causes your eye
to start at the king's face and move around the statue, without being confused by
excessive detail. The throne is elevated about a foot above ground level, so the king
would appear more powerful to worshippers bowing before the statue. The work is covered
with symbolism, including the protection of the lions, the sema-tawy, and the falcon,
Horus, God of the sky, perched on Chephren's back protecting the king's head with his
wings. Excluding the fact that one hand is clenched in a fist and the other is resting on
his knee, the work is symmetrical.
This work was constructed between the years 2540-2505 BC during the reign of King
Chephren to praise him as a great ruler of Egypt. No one knows exactly when the work was
sculpted or who may have participated in the creation of the statue. The Great Sphinx and
the second pyramid in Giza were also created during Chephren's rule, making it a very
prudential part of Egypt's artistic history.
I was flipping through a book of ancient Egyptian art trying to find a piece to analyze
when my finger slipped upon the statue of King Chephren. Most of the Egyptian statues
were constructed of limestone, but the statue of Chephren was made of a black stone,
which immediately caught my attention. I learned that it was Diorite and is much harder
than limestone, and more difficult to work with. The work is very exquisite. It is
obvious that the artist(s) that worked on it was very talented and must have created
other great works to be entrusted with creating the King's image in a statue. I respect
the time, effort, and talent that must have gone into such a work, but I'm not
spiritually moved by the piece. The statue does not relate to me and thus I can not
comprehend it and all of the meaning and symbolism it may have once had to ancient
people.