Medium: Limestone Reportedly From: Thebes, Egypt
Dates: ca. 1539-1390 B.C.E. Dynasty: early XVIII Dynasty
Period: New Kingdom
Headless Statue of the Scribe Djehuti
The man portrayed here, a scribe by profession, was appropriately named after the god of writing. The inscriptions on the sculpture, which was placed in a temple or chapel, include an appeal to "all mortuary priests and scribes who see this statue" to recite a standard offering formula for Djehuty. The recitation of the words would help ensure that Djehuty would magically benefit from the offerings described, during his lifetime and in the afterlife.