Statue of Raramu and Ankhet

Place of OriginEgypt (Giza Plateau, Western Cemetery, Tomb G 2099)

DateOld Kingdom, Dynasty 5, about 2400 BCE.

Dimensions22 3/4 × 14 5/8 × 5 1/2 in. (57.8 × 37.1 × 14 cm)

MediumPainted limestone.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1949.4

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThis limestone statue depicts Raramu and Ankhet, a married couple, standing side by side. A wide support extends behind them to their shoulders. Raramu, on the left, has arms at his sides, hands closed (possibly holding handkerchiefs). He wears a short wig, kilt, and pleated apron with a belt. His name and titles are inscribed on the back support and base. Ankhet, on the right, wraps her left arm around him, her hand on his shoulder, while her right arm hangs down. She wears a full wig and long tunic, with her name inscribed on the back support between them. Traces of black (hair, base), red-brown (his body), and gray (support) remain. The tip of Raramu's nose is broken; otherwise, the statue is intact.

Label TextThe pair-statue of Reramu and his wife Ankhet shows Ankhet embracing her husband’s shoulders, not only in tenderness but also as a conventional gesture to indicate marriage.Like many Egyptian statues it is meant to be seen from the front, its overall shape clearly reflecting the block of limestone from which it was cut. Also characteristic of many Egyptian sculptures are the stillness of the two figures and their attachment to a back slab. The latter includes hieroglyphic inscriptions with the couple’s names and titles (Reramu: King’s Acquaintance; Palace Official, Royal Wab-Priest, Prophet of Khufu in All His Places, Assistant Inspector of Palace Attendants; Ankhet: beloved wife). These were essential to the sculpture’s function as a substitute for the two individuals. The Toledo statues 1949.4 and 1949.5 were excavated in 1939 by George Andrew Reisner in the serdab of Raramu's tomb (G 2099) at the Western Cemetery of Giza. A serdab is a sealed chamber within a tomb, designed to house statues of the deceased for their spiritual sustenance. Found alongside related works, including a limestone triad today in the Cairo Museum (JE 72138) and a standing statue of the couple's son Kahersetef, today in Richmond (VMFA 1949.21).Published References

"Fiftieth anniversary," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, no. 130, Nov. - Dec. 1951.

Luckner, Kurt T., "The Art of Egypt, Part 1," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, new series, vol. 14, no. 1, Spring 1971, pp. 12, 13, repr. fig. 11.

Känel, Frédérique von, Les Prêtres-ouâb de Sekhmet et les conjurateurs de Serket, Paris, 1984, p. 15, repr. pl. VIII.

Roth, Ann Macy, Giza Mastabas Volume 6: A Cemetery of Palace Attendants (Including G 2084-2099, G 2230+2231, and G 2240), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1995, p. 151, repr. fig. 114a-b.

Peck, William H., Sandra E. Knudsen and Paula Reich, Egypt in Toledo: The Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 2011, p. 38, repr. (col.) p. 39. Manuelian, Peter Der, “Penmeru Revisited–Giza Mastaba G 2197 (Giza Archives Gleanings V),” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, vol. 45, 2009, p. 34.

Manuelian, Peter Der, “Excavating the Old Kingdom. The Giza Necropolis and Other Mastaba Fields,” in Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999, p. 150, fig. 92.

Porter, Bertha, and Rosalind L.B. Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings 3: Memphis (Abû Rawâsh to Dahshûr), Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1931, 2nd edition. Revised and augmented by Jaromír Málek, 3: Memphis, Part 1 (Abû Rawâsh to Abûsîr), Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1974, p. 70.

Roth, Ann Macy, A Cemetery of Palace Attendants. Giza Mastabas 6, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, 1995, p. 151, pl. 114.

Exhibition History

Toledo Museum of Art, Hands On Egypt, September 18, 1998 - August 31, 2000.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010-January 8, 2012.