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Lot Essay
Despite the loss of its head, which appears to have been repaired in antiquity with a mortise joint, this granodiorite statue of a seated man conveys a strong sense of vitality and strength. A single horizontal row of hieroglyphs on the front of the base identifies the owner as the “God’s Father, Inefer (II),” noting his descent from his similarly titled father, Imose, and from his grandfather, Inefer (I), after whom the statue owner was named at birth, in accordance with long-standing Egyptian tradition. The statue owner’s identity is further reaffirmed on the belt of his pleated shendyet-kilt. His genealogy is elaborated both textually and visually through additional inscriptions and representations carved on either side of the block seat.
Inefer holds a folded cloth in his right hand, while his left hand lies palm-down on his leg. The powerful musculature and bipartite treatment of the torso owe much to Middle Kingdom sculpture, as do the figures carved in shallow sunk relief on either side of the seat. A 26th Dynasty date, however, is affirmed by close study of the statue’s inscriptions, which link it closely to the cultural milieu of Saite Heliopolis. Archaizing tendencies in sculpture, relief, and text are a well-known feature of 26th Dynasty art and are strikingly exemplified by the fragments of a colossal statue of Psamtik I recently discovered in ongoing excavations at Heliopolis (see A. Ashmawy et al., “Psamtik I in Heliopolis,” Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 55, Autumn 2019, pp. 34–39). Substantial influence from Old Kingdom and early Middle Kingdom sculpture is likewise evident in much of the private art of the Saite period.
The inscriptions on the statue record the identities and genealogy of four members of a priestly family from Heliopolis, including one individual who appears to have formed elite connections through marriage to a Governor of Heliopolis named Aatj (I). On the right side of Inefer’s block seat, a standing woman and man are depicted in shallow incised relief. The woman wears a long, tight-fitting garment with a V-neck and holds her arms down at her sides. Although her name cannot be read with certainty (possibly “Shepset”), the accompanying hieroglyphic caption identifies her as a Singer of Atum-Re and, more significantly, as the daughter of the Governor of Heliopolis Aatj (I). The man standing behind her is identified as Aatj II, the statue owner’s son and presumably the woman’s husband; he is shown wearing a pleated kilt and striding while leaning on a walking stick.
On the opposite side of the block seat, four seated mummiform figures are carved, most likely intended to represent successive generations of male ancestors, a motif well attested on other Saite monuments. The two central figures are identified by inscription as Aatj II and Inefer II, while the remaining two, left unnamed, may reasonably be interpreted as Inefer II’s father, Imose, and his grandfather, Inefer (I). Comparable representations include the depiction of thirteen generations of ancestors carved in similar fashion on a lintel from Heliopolis (see L. M. Leahy and A. Leahy, “The Genealogy of a Priestly Family from Heliopolis,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 72, pp.133–147). It would appear that the proper left surface of the statue’s block seat was cut down and recarved in antiquity prior to the addition of these figures.
A limestone vaulted tomb of an individual named Inefer, son of Horwedja, discovered in 1957 in the area of Heliopolis, yielded a stone anthropoid sarcophagus now in Cairo (inv. no. JE 89662; inscription published b K. Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Spätzeit, vol. IV, pt. 2, no. 222). Although this individual is not to be identified with the owner of the present statue, the monument is of interest as evidence for the name Inefer in the Heliopolitan milieu of the 26th Dynasty. Like the statue of Inefer, son of Imose, this sarcophagus presents a genealogical display spanning multiple generations of the owner’s family. The names Tjanefer and Aatj also occur primarily at Heliopolis, likely the origin of this statue (for Tjanefer, see D. Klotz, “The Protection of Nebet-Hetepet: The Naophorous Statue Chiddingstone Castle 01.0492,” Bulletin de la Société d'Égyptologie, vol. 33, p. 103, no. I; for Aatj, see the canopic jars in the Louvre (inv. no. E 18885) and another belonging to the same individual in Lyon, Musée des Beaux Arts (inv. no. L 579). Both inscriptions refer to Aatj, called Neferibre – the prenomen of Psamtik II – indicating a terminus post quem for these objects. A statue in Bologna (inv. no. KS 1812) belonging to a priest from Heliopolis named Aatj dates from the reign of Psamtik I, suggesting that the name Aatj was popular in Heliopolis during Dynasty 26 (see Jansen-Winklen, op. cit., pt. 1, no. 115).
The inscriptions read:
At the top of the base, in front of Inefer’s feet: “This (viz. the statue) is the God’s Father, Inefer (II), Son of the God’s Father, Imose, Son of the God’s Father, Inefer (I).”
Around his belt: "It is the divine father Inefer."
To the proper right side: “The Lady of the House and Singer of Re-Atum, Shepset (?), Daughter of the Priest and God’s Father, Governor of Heliopolis, Aatj (I), Son of Tjanefer” (next to the figure of the standing woman) and “His son who perpetuates his name, the God’s Father, Priest of Amun in Lower Egyptian Heliopolis, Aatj (II), Son of the God’s Father, Inefer (II), Son of the God’s Father, Imose” (next to the figure of the standing man).
To the proper left side: “The God’s Father and Priest of Amun in Lower Egyptian Heliopolis, Aatj (II)” (in front of the first seated figure) and “The God’s Father, Inefer (II)” (in front of the second seated figure).
Inefer holds a folded cloth in his right hand, while his left hand lies palm-down on his leg. The powerful musculature and bipartite treatment of the torso owe much to Middle Kingdom sculpture, as do the figures carved in shallow sunk relief on either side of the seat. A 26th Dynasty date, however, is affirmed by close study of the statue’s inscriptions, which link it closely to the cultural milieu of Saite Heliopolis. Archaizing tendencies in sculpture, relief, and text are a well-known feature of 26th Dynasty art and are strikingly exemplified by the fragments of a colossal statue of Psamtik I recently discovered in ongoing excavations at Heliopolis (see A. Ashmawy et al., “Psamtik I in Heliopolis,” Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 55, Autumn 2019, pp. 34–39). Substantial influence from Old Kingdom and early Middle Kingdom sculpture is likewise evident in much of the private art of the Saite period.
The inscriptions on the statue record the identities and genealogy of four members of a priestly family from Heliopolis, including one individual who appears to have formed elite connections through marriage to a Governor of Heliopolis named Aatj (I). On the right side of Inefer’s block seat, a standing woman and man are depicted in shallow incised relief. The woman wears a long, tight-fitting garment with a V-neck and holds her arms down at her sides. Although her name cannot be read with certainty (possibly “Shepset”), the accompanying hieroglyphic caption identifies her as a Singer of Atum-Re and, more significantly, as the daughter of the Governor of Heliopolis Aatj (I). The man standing behind her is identified as Aatj II, the statue owner’s son and presumably the woman’s husband; he is shown wearing a pleated kilt and striding while leaning on a walking stick.
On the opposite side of the block seat, four seated mummiform figures are carved, most likely intended to represent successive generations of male ancestors, a motif well attested on other Saite monuments. The two central figures are identified by inscription as Aatj II and Inefer II, while the remaining two, left unnamed, may reasonably be interpreted as Inefer II’s father, Imose, and his grandfather, Inefer (I). Comparable representations include the depiction of thirteen generations of ancestors carved in similar fashion on a lintel from Heliopolis (see L. M. Leahy and A. Leahy, “The Genealogy of a Priestly Family from Heliopolis,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 72, pp.133–147). It would appear that the proper left surface of the statue’s block seat was cut down and recarved in antiquity prior to the addition of these figures.
A limestone vaulted tomb of an individual named Inefer, son of Horwedja, discovered in 1957 in the area of Heliopolis, yielded a stone anthropoid sarcophagus now in Cairo (inv. no. JE 89662; inscription published b K. Jansen-Winkeln, Inschriften der Spätzeit, vol. IV, pt. 2, no. 222). Although this individual is not to be identified with the owner of the present statue, the monument is of interest as evidence for the name Inefer in the Heliopolitan milieu of the 26th Dynasty. Like the statue of Inefer, son of Imose, this sarcophagus presents a genealogical display spanning multiple generations of the owner’s family. The names Tjanefer and Aatj also occur primarily at Heliopolis, likely the origin of this statue (for Tjanefer, see D. Klotz, “The Protection of Nebet-Hetepet: The Naophorous Statue Chiddingstone Castle 01.0492,” Bulletin de la Société d'Égyptologie, vol. 33, p. 103, no. I; for Aatj, see the canopic jars in the Louvre (inv. no. E 18885) and another belonging to the same individual in Lyon, Musée des Beaux Arts (inv. no. L 579). Both inscriptions refer to Aatj, called Neferibre – the prenomen of Psamtik II – indicating a terminus post quem for these objects. A statue in Bologna (inv. no. KS 1812) belonging to a priest from Heliopolis named Aatj dates from the reign of Psamtik I, suggesting that the name Aatj was popular in Heliopolis during Dynasty 26 (see Jansen-Winklen, op. cit., pt. 1, no. 115).
The inscriptions read:
At the top of the base, in front of Inefer’s feet: “This (viz. the statue) is the God’s Father, Inefer (II), Son of the God’s Father, Imose, Son of the God’s Father, Inefer (I).”
Around his belt: "It is the divine father Inefer."
To the proper right side: “The Lady of the House and Singer of Re-Atum, Shepset (?), Daughter of the Priest and God’s Father, Governor of Heliopolis, Aatj (I), Son of Tjanefer” (next to the figure of the standing woman) and “His son who perpetuates his name, the God’s Father, Priest of Amun in Lower Egyptian Heliopolis, Aatj (II), Son of the God’s Father, Inefer (II), Son of the God’s Father, Imose” (next to the figure of the standing man).
To the proper left side: “The God’s Father and Priest of Amun in Lower Egyptian Heliopolis, Aatj (II)” (in front of the first seated figure) and “The God’s Father, Inefer (II)” (in front of the second seated figure).