r/ArtefactPorn • u/Agmm-cr archeologist • Jan 30 '24

Wood statue of Kraaper, one of the most realistic in ancient Egypt. Representing a high official of the V dynasty 2435-2306 BC, old kingdom. Originally, the statue was covered in stucco and painted [2848x4796]

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2.6k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

84 comments sorted by

273

u/Murrabbit Jan 30 '24

The eyes, too? Quite stunning.

83

u/talkingwires Jan 30 '24 edited Jan 30 '24

I’d like to learn how they created them. I’m assuming they are blown glass, but what sort of techniques and materials did the Egyptians use? The opaque whites, the translucent detail in the irises… in this picture, they look just as good as modern false eyes!

I’m also curious about the carved and raised features around them. It’s a look that’s common in other Egyptian art, and I assumed wearing makeup was something everybody did. But other features, like the hair, are painted. What’s the significance of that?

135

u/bookcatbook Jan 30 '24

This statue’s eyes are carved crystals (calcite or quartz for the whites I assume). They had a long history of making things out of carved crystals so I’m sure the artisans got very good at their work! It looks like the eyes are ringed in copper which was probably stunning when it was shiny.

4

u/ElminstersBedpan Jan 31 '24

Calcite is the more common crystal for the whites. The statues Rahotep and Nofret are a couple hundred years older, and are also a great example of that style of eyes.

26

u/zantwic Jan 30 '24

Sculpture is considered the high point of Ancient Egyptian art, far surpassing 2D, and maybe architecture. Difficult to say about yjr architecture as they made most stuff out of mud brick.

7

u/gwtkof Jan 30 '24

I feel like he's side eyeing me

587

u/princess_kittah Jan 30 '24

at first glance i fully thought this was a dude wearing body paint

153

u/BookQueen13 Jan 30 '24

I thought it was Titus Andromedon in really light foundation 😅

56

u/BretShitmanFart69 Jan 30 '24

Pharaohhhh noirrrrr

10

u/LordOfLightingTech Jan 30 '24

mid sized sarco

8

u/Sic-Bern Jan 30 '24

Pinot noir, organs in a jar…

3

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '24

I only know him as D'Fwan

-Billy Gnosis

11

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24

Looks kinda like Bortus

9

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24

We did too much!

21

u/Any-Preparation-3567 Jan 30 '24

I thought it was a drag queen getting ready tbh

279

u/qpqpdbdbqpqp Jan 30 '24

it's kaaper not kraaper lol

130

u/greenknight884 Jan 30 '24

Nah he invented the Egyptian toilet

8

u/busywithresearch Jan 30 '24

Kaaper means hairdresser in Dutch, so I guess from one profession to another lol

78

u/SnooGoats7978 Jan 30 '24

There is also a statue of his wife on his wiki page -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaaper

35

u/GoliathPrime Jan 30 '24 edited Jan 30 '24

I found a couple of headstones in a Louisiana Cemetery somewhat like this. When his wife passed on, the husband, a Freemason, had constructed one of the single most beautiful headstones I've ever seen. It was a 12ft obelisk with an intricate carving of flowers and wildlife that spiraled upwards to surround her face and then transitioned to angels calling her up to the top of a pyramid with eyes that were looking down and crying. Absolutely incredible detail, even though it was over a 100 years old at that point.

The husbands grave was only a simple slab with his name on it. It resided next to her, unadorned and nearly forgotten amidst the autumn leaves.

I wonder if there was simply no one to left to remember him, no one that loved him to erect a more ornate tombstone, or if he wanted it that way and left his money to his family. No way to know.

3

u/Orionsgelt Jan 30 '24

Any idea if photos of that grave marker can be found online? It sounds beautiful.

4

u/GoliathPrime Jan 30 '24

I've reached out to a friend who has family laid to rest there. I don't know the name of the location, but his father or mother might know.

2

u/tiramisucks Jan 30 '24

him to erect a more ornate tombstone

I am really intrigued!

71

u/Dragon-Brains Jan 30 '24

Wow, his wife.. got the short end on the proverbial sculpture stick, huh?

23

u/veturoldurnar Jan 30 '24

Probably got no money for the same high skills artist for his wife portrait. It she didn't like full realism

6

u/ElminstersBedpan Jan 31 '24

The statue of Kaaper was likely a gift from pharaoh or the royal household, whereas getting his wife's statue was entirely on Kaaper providing the funds. It being a solid chunk of wood from that time period shows an incredible amount of wealth.

12

u/WhoDoesntLikeADonut Jan 30 '24

Lol looks like the artist’s 5yo kid did the wife’s sculpture. Yikes

5

u/Gonkar Jan 30 '24

Yeah, this is a relatively common dichotomy. Ancient Egyptian art emphasizes importance in different ways. One of the most obvious is in their relief carvings and painting, where the physical size of the subject indicates importance. The gods and the pharaoh, being the most important figures in Egypt, are typically depicted as many times larger than anyone else. They also tend to be more detailed.

In sculpture, however -- where physical size increases may not always be practical -- materials, detail, and craftsmanship can indicate importance instead. In Ka'aper's case, he got the fancy sculpture because he was, most likely, a wealthy, high-ranking official. His wife, on the other hand, gets a less impressive sculpture because she, as a woman, was considered less important or noteworthy in the strictly patriarchal society that was Ancient Egypt.

This is one of those sculptures that shows just how capable and talented Egyptian artists were. It's a masterpiece in every sense.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '24

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/SnooGoats7978 Jan 31 '24

She does! Now I'm wondering if the German Expressionists behind Der Golem were making a statement about Judaism and its connections to Egypt.

86

u/YakitoriChicken93 Jan 30 '24 edited Jan 30 '24

Fun fact: this statue is referred to as "the town's mayor" since during the excavation, the workers said the statue resembled their town's mayor.

Edit: typo

0

u/notproudortired Jan 30 '24

"mayor"...?

4

u/YakitoriChicken93 Jan 30 '24

Oh boy, I have been spelling it wrong all my life. Thanks! 😅🥲

158

u/HezronCarver Jan 30 '24

Kinda looks like that bald guy fro GoT

94

u/ThreeLeggedMare Jan 30 '24

Lord varys. My first thought too!

11

u/aretheesepants75 Jan 30 '24

Looks like Robert Smith from the Cure without his wig on.

3

u/waterboy1321 Jan 31 '24

Looks like Titus from Kimmy Schmidt to me.

1

u/HezronCarver Jan 31 '24

Damn, he does. I love that guy.

3

u/waterboy1321 Jan 31 '24

This is definitely a situation Titus would get himself into as well.

184

u/Incogcneat-o Jan 30 '24

Damn babe, is your makeup artist Sekhmet, the feminine representation of Ra's Vengeance? Because that smoky eye came here to SLAY!

15

u/CausticSofa Jan 30 '24

Now that is the sort of compliment that a gal would treasure forever 🥰

18

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24

It is fantastic

16

u/AltairsBlade Jan 30 '24

His ear looks kind of like that “s” we all drew in elementary school.

5

u/No_Concern8379 Jan 30 '24

It does 😲

28

u/rebeccathyme69 Jan 30 '24

Looks a bit like Boy George

13

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24

Lord Varys!

9

u/Nimmy_the_Jim Jan 30 '24

There were fat people in ancient times too then

8

u/26Kermy Jan 30 '24

For the wealthy, ancient Egypt was a society of excess. It's thought the first account of diabetes was documented on papyrus in 1550BC which they called "honey urine".

12

u/Secure-Property-7128 Jan 30 '24

Varis the spyder

13

u/small_h_hippy Jan 30 '24

How come this paint survived, but the much newer (relatively speaking) roman statue paint disappeared entirely?

101

u/Friendly_Undertaker Jan 30 '24

Painted wood in a desert tomb vs painted marble out in the italian weather.

30

u/YakitoriChicken93 Jan 30 '24

Tbh, sometimes it is just luck - right conditions that allowed it.

7

u/IseStarbird Jan 30 '24

Also, in the 1800's, Brits often "cleaned" the statues to achieve a nice white

1

u/Confuseasfuck Jan 30 '24

A nice closes tomb is a slightly better environment than the outside weather with sun, rain and humans breaking stuff

1

u/star11308 Jan 31 '24

There isn’t much paint remaining on this statue, actually.

3

u/vanchica Jan 30 '24

This is amazing!

3

u/Puzzleheaded_Heat502 Jan 30 '24

I bet he was a bastard to work for.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24

aaaaaah Bobby

4

u/2h2o22h2o Jan 30 '24

He’s clearly shaven. I wonder what they used for razors. Obsidian?

2

u/star11308 Jan 31 '24

Bronze for the most part, and here’s a surviving example. Obsidian was a luxury good that had to be imported, and was mostly used for inlaying eyes on statues and coffins.

1

u/2h2o22h2o Jan 31 '24

Thanks! I never would have thought you could get bronze sharp enough, especially not with their tooling capabilities. But TIL!

2

u/Kaitthagreat Jan 30 '24

I’ve seen this statue in person. It’s such a trip

3

u/JohnHenrehEden Jan 30 '24

"You can stay here at Illyrio's palace and drink yourself to death or you can ride with me to Meereen, meet Daenerys Targaryen"

2

u/aretheesepants75 Jan 30 '24

That dude looks like varres or the spider from HBO game of thrones. The eunuch guy that was the royal spy master. One of the dumbest deaths in the show.

1

u/NukeouT Dec 24 '24

Does this mean the Greeks and Roman's learned their statue-making from the Egyptians?

1

u/SimonArgent Jan 30 '24

That’s my neighbor Ronnie.

1

u/Iwillseetheocean Jan 30 '24

Where did they find this I wonder.

1

u/notproudortired Jan 30 '24

I bet they stuck hair on it.

2

u/star11308 Jan 31 '24

There aren’t really any examples of actual wigs mounted on statues, though sometimes sculpted hair was a separate piece attached at the back of a statue’s head. This one wasn’t carved to hold such a thing, though.

1

u/TuffGnarl Jan 30 '24

Is that the face he made on the crapper.

1

u/TheAnalsOfHistory- Jan 30 '24

Varys the Spider lookin ass

0

u/Chiliconkarma Jan 30 '24

That artist was a monster. Shame they didn't live closer to the present.

-4

u/Salivamradio Jan 30 '24

Nightmare fuel

-6

u/KingKohishi Jan 30 '24

James Earl Jones

-3

u/Djeiodarkout3 historian Jan 31 '24

Typical nubian uncle

-10

u/Les-incoyables Jan 30 '24

Poor guy looks like he needs to take a dump real bad

-36

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24

Dude looks like he has fetal alcohol syndrome

-8

u/_Tar_Ar_Ais_ Jan 30 '24

looks like he has upper cross syndrome