Raherka and Meresankh
Encyclopedia
Raherka and Meresankh ("she loves life") were ancient Egyptians, a husband and wife. They lived in the 4th dynasty or 5th dynasty.
.
(E 15592) which is an example of portraiture in Ancient Egypt
. The statue is carved from limestone and is 52.8 centimetres (20.8 in) high. The husband and wife are carefully modeled with Raherka's figure showing musculature. The pair-statue is painted in multiple colors. The husband is rendered in the traditional red skin color used for males, while his wife Meresankh is painted in a yellow toned skin color which was standard for that time. The wigs and eyeliners are painted black.
The statue of Raherka and Meresankh has been compared to that of the dwarf Seneb
and his family. In both statues the wife is shown warmly embracing her husband.
The German Egyptologists Hermann Junker
had dated the pair statue to the end of the Old Kingdom
, and it has been suggested that the statue dates to the 5th dynasty
. Others have suggested that the pose of the wife and the names point to the 4th dynasty
.
The statue was found in 1902 by Montague Ballard and probably comes from tomb D 37 which is located in the Steindorff cemetery in Giza. Fragments of another statue depicting a woman carrying a child were found just north of the tomb and are now in the Leipzig Museum (Inv. 2446).
Their lives
Raherka held high administrative responsibilities. He was an "inspector of scribes of the jackal". Meresankh's title was "King's acquaintance", which means she had access to the royal palacePalace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
.
Statue
The couple is known from their beautiful pair-statue now in the LouvreLouvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
(E 15592) which is an example of portraiture in Ancient Egypt
Portraiture in Ancient Egypt
Portraiture in Ancient Egypt forms a conceptual attempt to portray “the subject from its own perspective rather than the viewpoint of the artist … to communicate essential information about the object itself”...
. The statue is carved from limestone and is 52.8 centimetres (20.8 in) high. The husband and wife are carefully modeled with Raherka's figure showing musculature. The pair-statue is painted in multiple colors. The husband is rendered in the traditional red skin color used for males, while his wife Meresankh is painted in a yellow toned skin color which was standard for that time. The wigs and eyeliners are painted black.
The statue of Raherka and Meresankh has been compared to that of the dwarf Seneb
Seneb
Seneb was a dwarf who served as a high-ranking court official in the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, circa 2520 BC. He is depicted with his wife and children in a painted sculpture from his tomb that is a famous example of Old Kingdom art...
and his family. In both statues the wife is shown warmly embracing her husband.
The German Egyptologists Hermann Junker
Hermann Junker
Hermann Junker was a German archaeologist best known for his discovery of the Merimde site in the West Delta in Lower Egypt in 1928.-Selected Publications:* Die Grabung auf dem Mastabafeld von Gizeh. Vienna: Akademie der Wissenschaft, 1912....
had dated the pair statue to the end of the Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom is the name given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley .The term itself was...
, and it has been suggested that the statue dates to the 5th dynasty
Fifth dynasty of Egypt
The fifth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. Dynasty V dates approximately from 2494 to 2345 BC.-Rulers:...
. Others have suggested that the pose of the wife and the names point to the 4th dynasty
Fourth dynasty of Egypt
The fourth dynasty of ancient Egypt is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom. Dynasty IV lasted from ca. 2613 to 2494 BC...
.
The statue was found in 1902 by Montague Ballard and probably comes from tomb D 37 which is located in the Steindorff cemetery in Giza. Fragments of another statue depicting a woman carrying a child were found just north of the tomb and are now in the Leipzig Museum (Inv. 2446).