Group Statue of Kai and Family

Group Statue of Kai and Family
Group Statue of Kai and Family
Group Statue of Kai and Family
Group Statue of Kai and Family
Group Statue of Kai and Family
Group Statue of Kai and Family

GEM Number

5332

Collection

Main Galleries

Period

Old Kingdom

Dynasty

4

Description

This exceptional group statue was discovered in 1992 at the Giza Necropolis (G1741). It shows the priest Kai with his son and daughter. Kai (also known as Kapunesut Kai) sits looking straight ahead with his right arm crossed against his chest and his left palm resting flat on his thigh. He wears a short hair wig and a knee-length kilt. His eyes are beautifully inlaid. His son Shepseska is shown standing beside his right leg while his daughter Nefretankh is kneeling, embracing her father's left leg. Kai held several important titles, most likely at the end of Dynasty 4 or early in Dynasty 5. Inscriptions on the statue base refer to Kai as ‘Priest of Horus of Behdet, Overseer of Mortuary Priests, Judge, Scribe, Sailor, Priest of Seshat and Steward of the Great Estate’. Inscriptions decorating tomb G1741, which possibly belongs to his daughter Nefretankh, state that Kai also served the cults of the kings Snefru, Khufu, Khafre and Djedefre who ruled Egypt in Dynasty 4.

Region
Memphis
Area
Giza
Limestone - Pigment

Height

56 cm

Width

22 cm

Length

36 cm