KHAFRE c. 2575-2525 BC
Egyptian, Old Kingdom
Diorite
Background: Khafre, of the Old Kingdom's
Dynasty IV, is best known for his pyramid (one of the three Great Pyramids of
Gizeh) and the Sphinx which bears his likeness. The material of this statue, which
is approximately life-size, is diorite, an extremely hard stone and chosen for its sense
of permanence—the permanence of kingship. Here we see Khafre as a god-king—ruler
of his subjects not just in the present but in the afterlife as well. He is eternal and as
such he is depicted with an athletic physique in the prime of life regardless of his
actual age at the time of the statue's carving. This is a convention that most pharaohs
followed in their royal images with the most notable exception being the "heretic
king" Akhenaton in the New Kingdom. The overall effect is of profound dignity.
