Block Statue Inscribed for Sr-Dhwty
Egypt, likely Karnak, 26th Dynasty, (664-525 BCE)
Black basalt, 26 × 10 × 14 in. (66.04 × 25.4 × 35.56 cm)
William Randolph Hearst Collection,
LACMA #48.24.8

The "block" type of statue first made its appearance in the Middle Kingdom, but grew in popularity. By the Late Period, it was the most popular type for non royals. The "Karnak Cachette", discovered by Georges Legrain, featured in addition to bronze statues, nearly 800 stone statues, among them more than 350 cube statues (Regine Schulz, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology). The museum website notes that this statue's source is "likely Karnak", thus possibly it is among one of those 350 statues.

All that text! I can't locate a translation and I am but a dabbler!


I can make out the deities here. It is Khonsu, Mut and Amun Ra to whom the kneeling man is giving dua (praise/adoration). These three are known as the "Theban Triad", three Egyptian gods that were the most popular in the area of Thebes, in Egypt. These gods were the primary deities worshipped in the massive temple complex at Karnak. Thebes was known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset. We can make out the hieroglyphs for Waset in front of the worshipping man:


Hieroglyphs source: Wikipedia