Queen Ankhenesmeryre II with young Pepy II Alabaster, Old Kingdom, Dyn. 6, ca 2288-2194 B.C.E. Probably from Upper Egypt Brooklyn #39.119, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund |
"Pepy II became king while still a child, around the age of six. This statuette shows him seated on the lap of his mother, Queen Ankhnes-meryre II. Although Pepy's back is carefully modeled, his mother's is flat, suggesting that when the sculpture was originally placed against a wall or column, the queen faced the viewer directly. Thus, she and not the king was the primary subject." (From Art For Eternity, by Fazzini, Romano and Cody, page 54) |