Kneeling Statuette of Pepy I
This finely crafted statuette portrays King Pepy I kneeling and presenting nu-pots—ritual vessels traditionally used to hold milk or wine.
The act of kneeling was reserved for devotion to a deity, indicating that this figure was likely placed before a god’s statue within a temple.
The sculpture features inlaid eyes of black and white stone set in copper rims, adding remarkable lifelike detail to the king’s expression. A small hole above Pepy’s forehead once held a metal uraeus cobra, the emblem of royal authority.
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Medium: Greywacke, alabaster, obsidian, copper
Possible Place Collected: Upper Egypt, Egypt
Date: ca. 2338–2298 B.C.E.
Dynasty: 6th Dynasty
Period: Old Kingdom
