Limestone, pigment Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5, ca 2477 BCE Tomb of Ny-kau-inpu, Giza OIM 10619 Photo ©Joan Ann Lansberry, 2010

(From museum info card): {This statue is] among a group of twenty-five "thought to have come from the tomb of a courtier named Nykauinpu at Giza. According to Egyptian beliefs, food and the pleasurable activities of daily life could be guaranteed in the afterlife by representing them in the tomb. As a result, statues such as these, which show individuals performing everyday tasks, were placed in tombs to perform necessary services for the deceased in the afterlife. Since statues were thought to be able to substitute for actual laborers..." (Photo of card cropped out further info.) (From _Ancient Egypt: Treasures of the Oriental Institute_, by Emily Teeter, page 21): "These figurines, the largest known group preserved from a single tomb, include the tomb owner and his wife, his sons and daughters, members of his staff and a model of a granary". There's a small grayscale photo in the book of the entire group. This couple is shorter than the largest couple statue, so it might represent Nykauinpu's relatives. Two harpists from this group