The sculpture King Mycerinus and His Queen is one of the oldest artworks of Egyptian culture, which dates back to around 2490-2472 B.C., about the same age as Giza’s pyramids. This artwork depicts two figures of King Mycerinus and his Queen, who froze in the move. I chose the sculpture King Mycerinus and His Queen as it reflects the ideal of a person in Egyptian culture, but at the same time, it displays a woman equal to a man.
The sculpture was discovered by the Menkaura Valley Temple in Giza and is today kept in the Museum of Fine Art Boston. The art piece shows the image of an ideal person of the Old Kingdom period since the monarch in Egypt was the personification of a deity and his features are the ideal. The Queen is depicted as equal to the King, which is not at all common in Egyptian cultures (“King Menkaura (Mycerinus),” n.d.). However, this peculiarity is explained by the fact that the Queen is also a monarchy member, and she should be displayed with the same respect.
Annotated Bibliography
Andreae, C. (1997). Gazing into eternity. Christian Science Monitor, 89(76), 16.
This article is a transcript of a tour by Rita Freed, the curator of the Museum of Fine Arts’ department of Egyptian and ancient Near Eastern art. She tells the story and features of King Mycerinus and His Queen sculpture. Christopher Andreae has written down the essential details of the curator’s explanation, which are significant for studying sculpture and Egyptian culture. Although this tour took place more than twenty years ago, the information gleaned from it is still relevant.
Lewis, R., & Lewis, S. I. (2009). The power of art. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
This book presents the history of world art and its influence in different periods. King Mycerinus and His Queen is presented as an important part of the history of the Old Kingdom of Egypt and described in the context of the culture and society of that period. Thus, this textbook allows the reader to learn not only the features of creating the sculpture but also its influence and place in culture.
Ezra, R., Harris, B., & Zucker. S. (2019). Guide to Ancient Egyptian art [Smarthistory version]. Web.
This book gives a holistic view of the culture and art of Ancient Egypt and displays its social structure. The book also has a section about King Mycerinus and His Queen, which describes the sculpture’s features and history. Therefore, this source is relevant for study as it has the most recent and relevant information.
References
King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and queen. (n.d.). Web.