On January 10th, 1910, a large amount of statuary was found in the Valley Temple of the Egyptian King Menkaure by the archeological team of George Reisner (head of Harvard University/Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Over 50 years earlier, Menkaure’s pyramid and its connected temple had been explored. Unfortunately, the temple was in poor condition and the King’s newly found sarcophagus was lost at sea.
The Valley Temple, however, was in excellent condition, and when the archeologists dug into the floor, it was found to have an impressive collection of statues. Along with a solo seated statue, most of the nearly life size statues found consisted of three figures (generally depicting Menkaure flanked by two gods or goddesses), called “triads.”…show more content… It is carved out of dark black “schist,” which is a layered rock created when greywacke is buried and heated. It would have been placed in a niche (recess) in the wall of the temple, with both figures facing forward to view the rituals being performed for them.
While the subjects’ faces appear very stern and appropriate to the canon, their features are more personalized than the majority of other Egyptian statues, especially around Menkaure’s time. The King’s nose and cheekbones stand out especially as being unique in the style. Most other aspects of their faces, including their lack of expression and youthful appearance, are part of the Egyptian canon.
In a style specific to stone sculpture, all of the features of the sculpture are very close together, leaving almost no negative space. The space between the king’s extended right leg and the wall behind him is completely filled in with the stone, as is the space between his and his Queen’s arms. It was more important to the Egyptians that the statues remain completely intact than be realistic representations, so extra care was used to prevent breakage (the metal and wood sculptures were lighter and more durable, and therefore could feature more negative space). Even the hollows of his closed fist are filled, though that could also be representation of abbreviated forms of office or ritualistic
