Bust of a Woman
Culture: Egyptian
Period: Old Kingdom
Dynasty: Dynasty 4
Date: ca. 2613-2494 B.C.
Medium: Gneiss
Dimensions:
h. 10 in. (25.4 cm); w. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm); d. 5 in. (12.7 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Object number: 91.80.126
Provenance: with Michel E. Abemayor (1912-1975), New York, by 1967; sold by Michel E. Abemayor to Gilbert M. Denman, Jr. (1921-2004), San Antonio, 1969; Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., by gift to San Antonio Museum of Art, 1991
Published References
C.A. Picon, Ancient Art from the Denman Collection, MB Winter 1987, pp. 12-13
G. D. Scott, III, "An Old Kingdom Sculpture in the San Antonio Museum of Art," in Studies in Honor of William Kelly Simpson, vol. 2, eds. P. D. Manuelian and R. E. Freed (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1996), 717-723.
J. Powers and J. Johnston, eds., San Antonio Museum of Art: Guide to the Collection (San Antonio: San Antonio Museum of Art, 2012), 23.
Label Text
Among the finest examples of ancient Egyptian sculpture in the Museum's collection, this bust once belonged to a statue that showed the woman seated. The distinctive veined stone, sometimes called "Chephren's diorite" because it was used for many statues depicting the builder of the Great Sphinx, came from a quarry in Lower Nubia. The choice of this stone and the fine quality of the carving indicate that the woman was probably a close relative of one of the Fourth Dynasty kings. (J. Powers, 2013)
On view
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
