Cube statue. Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period - Lower Epoch, 1070 - 323 B.C.

Cube statue. Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period - Lower Epoch, 1070 - 323 B.C.
Granite.
Provenance: Private collection K. Himmelen, Frankfurt, Germany.
Conservation: Good state of preservation.
Measurements: 14,5 cm high.

Granite sculpture representing a seated figure in the form of a "cube statue", a characteristic typology of late Egyptian art in which the body appears wrapped in a compact mantle, with the knees tucked in and the arms hidden under the clothing. This highly symbolic format was associated with the idea of permanence, seclusion and regeneration in the funerary and Templar sphere.

The face emerges from the compact volume of the body, framed by a tripartite wig. The simplification of the forms and the solidity of the block reflect the stylistic canons of this period, where frontality and timelessness prevail over naturalism.

The cube statues were usually dedicated in temples or deposited in funerary contexts as a support for inscriptions and as a means to ensure the eternal presence of the individual before the divinity.

A small size specimen but of great typological interest, representative of one of the most emblematic sculptural forms of ancient Egypt, highly prized in archaeological collecting.