Statue of Meryrahashetef, c. 2345-2181 B.C.

In the late 19th century, Sir Flinders Petrie uncovered a remarkable assemblage within the tomb of Meryrahashetef at Sidmant el-Gebel, Faiyum. Among the finds was the mummified head of a man, resting upon a calcite headrest. Though much of the flesh and linen wrappings had perished, leaving only the skeletal skull, Petrie identified the remains as those of Meryrahashetef, a 6th Dynasty “Keeper of the Palace Garden” and “Lector Priest”.

Also discovered in the tomb was a superbly carved wooden statue of Meryrahashetef, hewn from a single piece of ebony and set upon a base of sycamore fig wood. Standing 58.1 cm high, the figure portrays him with the titles “Sole Companion”, “Keeper of the Palace Garden”, and “Lector Priest”.

These finds, dating to the Old Kingdom (c. 2345–2278 B.C.), are now housed in the British Museum. The head (EA55725) is not on public display, but the calcite headrest (EA55724) and the ebony statue (EA55722) remain among the finest examples of Old Kingdom craftsmanship.

The headrest is fashioned in the form of two human hands, their finely delineated fingers outstretched to cradle the curved neck support. These hands rise from the top of a column shaped like a pair of arms, which, towards its lower end, transforms into two ankles. The plain, undetailed feet stand at a perfect 180-degree angle along the length of the elongated oval base.

The name and titles of the owner are delicately incised across the neck rest, down sections of the supporting column, and along one edge of the base, the inscriptions neatly inlaid with blue paste.