Seneb and Family
Title
Seneb and Family
Date
6th Dynasty (Old Kingdom), 2520 BC
Artist or Workshop
Unknown
Materials
Painted limestome
Height of the work
34 cm tall
Provenience
Egypt, Giza, Western Cemetery, Mastaba #G1036
Current Location
The Egyptian Museum of Cairo, Egypt
Sitter Biography
Seneb, a dwarf, lived during the Egyptian Old Kingdom and was of great importance. Seneb was, according to scholars, responsible for the royal wardrobe and was the chief of all of the palace dwarfs. Additionally, scholars state that Seneb was the chief priest for the funerary temples of Cheops (Khufu) and Djedefre (son of Khufu). Senetites (also known as Senet), wife of Seneb, was the Priestess of Hathor and Neith. Together, Seneb and Senetites had, as depicted in the statue, a son and daughter. While they were not of royal lineage, they were of the elite class as they were buried in a mastaba in the Western Cemetery of Giza located near the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
Description and Significance
Description:
The statue group is composed of four limestone figures (2 men and 2 women) and a limestone block. The larger man and woman are sitting on the block and the children are standing/leaning on the block. The limestone is polychromatic, meaning that it is of many colors; the statue group consists of various colors (blacks, whites, tans, and reds). The men have the red, dark skin tone and the women have the white, lighter skin tone. Overall, the statue group has a mainly closed silhouette, for the exception of the open space between Seneb and his wife. The statue is under life size.
The seated man, Seneb, is smaller than woman sitting with him. He is a dwarf as his head and arms are proportionally sized and his legs are of a smaller size. As mentioned above, he has a red/brown skin tone with a full head of black hair on his head. His eyes have no trace of pupils and are a white/tan color. He is wearing a white kilt and he is seated with his legs criss-crossed physically on the top of the limestone block. His arms are roughly at a ninety-degree angle facing inward where the hands meet in front of his chest. Seneb appears to be slightly fleshy in the stomach region.
The seated woman, Senetites, has a fully proportional body compared to that of Seneb. She is sitting to the left of the seated man. She is wearing a white dress that is closely fitted to her body. Senetites is also wearing a heavy black wig with traces of her real hair sticking out in the front of the wig. She appears to have a slight smile on her face. Her right arm is behind Seneb's back and her right hand rests on his right shoulder. Her left arm is in front of her chest and her left hand is holding husband's left elbow. Both of her feet are on the ground. There appears to be some damage, a slash, on her left arm.
Directly underneath the Seneb stand his two children. As mentioned above, there is a dark skinned figure indicating a boy and light skinned figure indicating a girl. The boy has black hair with a side ponytail on the right side. The girl, like the boy, also has black hair with the ponytail. Both children have a finger in their mouths and both are nude. Both are also very small in size. There is hieroglyphic writing on both sides of the children as well as on the bottom of the limestone block where the feet are resting.
Significance:
The fact that Seneb and his family were buried in a mastaba in the Western Cemetery signifies that they were of the elite class, were wealthy, and were of some importance to the royal families. It was located in a closed chest that would have acted as a serdab, a room and/or place were the Ka, or the lifespark, could inhabit the bodies of the dead. In this case, the Ka immortalizes Seneb and his family.
Seneb’s cross-legged position on the block indicates that one of his held offices might have been as a scribe similar of the pose seen on the Seated Scribe statue. Seneb is positioned further ahead on the block than that of his wife suggesting that he is more important and/or has more power in the family unit.
His wife is depicted as being very supportive of her husband. Senetites is holding his left arm and right shoulder which provides a sense that she is comforting her husband. Additionally, at a different angle one can observe that she is placed slightly further back than that of Seneb telling us that he is of greater importance and she is there more or less for support. She is wearing a black, heavy wig that was a typical part of elite fashion. She has a small smile on her face which might signify that she is happy with her life, husband and family, and her role.
The children of Seneb and his wife might seem awkwardly placed, however the placement is intentional. The children are oddly small, but are located in the position where Seneb’s legs would have been if he were not a dwarf. This is important in that the children sort of normalize the look of the statue group as it almost appears that Seneb has fully grown legs. The statue group also creates a sense that the Egyptian culture accepted dwarfs and that being a dwarf might not have been seen as a deformity.
The statue group is composed of four limestone figures (2 men and 2 women) and a limestone block. The larger man and woman are sitting on the block and the children are standing/leaning on the block. The limestone is polychromatic, meaning that it is of many colors; the statue group consists of various colors (blacks, whites, tans, and reds). The men have the red, dark skin tone and the women have the white, lighter skin tone. Overall, the statue group has a mainly closed silhouette, for the exception of the open space between Seneb and his wife. The statue is under life size.
The seated man, Seneb, is smaller than woman sitting with him. He is a dwarf as his head and arms are proportionally sized and his legs are of a smaller size. As mentioned above, he has a red/brown skin tone with a full head of black hair on his head. His eyes have no trace of pupils and are a white/tan color. He is wearing a white kilt and he is seated with his legs criss-crossed physically on the top of the limestone block. His arms are roughly at a ninety-degree angle facing inward where the hands meet in front of his chest. Seneb appears to be slightly fleshy in the stomach region.
The seated woman, Senetites, has a fully proportional body compared to that of Seneb. She is sitting to the left of the seated man. She is wearing a white dress that is closely fitted to her body. Senetites is also wearing a heavy black wig with traces of her real hair sticking out in the front of the wig. She appears to have a slight smile on her face. Her right arm is behind Seneb's back and her right hand rests on his right shoulder. Her left arm is in front of her chest and her left hand is holding husband's left elbow. Both of her feet are on the ground. There appears to be some damage, a slash, on her left arm.
Directly underneath the Seneb stand his two children. As mentioned above, there is a dark skinned figure indicating a boy and light skinned figure indicating a girl. The boy has black hair with a side ponytail on the right side. The girl, like the boy, also has black hair with the ponytail. Both children have a finger in their mouths and both are nude. Both are also very small in size. There is hieroglyphic writing on both sides of the children as well as on the bottom of the limestone block where the feet are resting.
Significance:
The fact that Seneb and his family were buried in a mastaba in the Western Cemetery signifies that they were of the elite class, were wealthy, and were of some importance to the royal families. It was located in a closed chest that would have acted as a serdab, a room and/or place were the Ka, or the lifespark, could inhabit the bodies of the dead. In this case, the Ka immortalizes Seneb and his family.
Seneb’s cross-legged position on the block indicates that one of his held offices might have been as a scribe similar of the pose seen on the Seated Scribe statue. Seneb is positioned further ahead on the block than that of his wife suggesting that he is more important and/or has more power in the family unit.
His wife is depicted as being very supportive of her husband. Senetites is holding his left arm and right shoulder which provides a sense that she is comforting her husband. Additionally, at a different angle one can observe that she is placed slightly further back than that of Seneb telling us that he is of greater importance and she is there more or less for support. She is wearing a black, heavy wig that was a typical part of elite fashion. She has a small smile on her face which might signify that she is happy with her life, husband and family, and her role.
The children of Seneb and his wife might seem awkwardly placed, however the placement is intentional. The children are oddly small, but are located in the position where Seneb’s legs would have been if he were not a dwarf. This is important in that the children sort of normalize the look of the statue group as it almost appears that Seneb has fully grown legs. The statue group also creates a sense that the Egyptian culture accepted dwarfs and that being a dwarf might not have been seen as a deformity.
References
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40618-015-0396-2#Fig1
el-Shahawy, A. (2005). The Egyptian Museum in Cairo A Walk through the Alleys of Ancient Egypt (pp. 75-76). Cairo, Egypt : Farid Atiya Press. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
Smith, W. S., & Simpson, W. K. (1998). The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt (p. 72). N.p.: Yale University Press.
Hawass, Z. (n.d.). Inside the Egyptian Museum (pp. 88-89). Cairo, Egypt : The American University in Cairo Press.
Arnold, D. (n.d.). Old Kingdom Statues in their Architectural Setting (pp. 41-46).
el-Shahawy, A. (2005). The Egyptian Museum in Cairo A Walk through the Alleys of Ancient Egypt (pp. 75-76). Cairo, Egypt : Farid Atiya Press. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
Smith, W. S., & Simpson, W. K. (1998). The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt (p. 72). N.p.: Yale University Press.
Hawass, Z. (n.d.). Inside the Egyptian Museum (pp. 88-89). Cairo, Egypt : The American University in Cairo Press.
Arnold, D. (n.d.). Old Kingdom Statues in their Architectural Setting (pp. 41-46).
Contributor
Ryan Milley
Citation
Unknown, “Seneb and Family,” Digital Portrait "Basket" - ARTH488A - "Ancient Mediterranean Portraiture", accessed May 20, 2024, https://classicalchopped2.artinterp.org/omeka/items/show/4.
Item Relations
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