Queen Khenemet-Nefer-Hedjet Louvre (PARIS)

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Queen Khenemet-Nefer-Hedjet “the Great” from the late prehistoric period to the late Middle Kingdom (circa 3800 - 1710 BC). The woman is portrayed in a perfectly frontal, sitting pose, with her hands placed flat on her knees. Her straight back rests against a pillar that is part of her cubic seat; her head is slightly raised as if she is gazing at the horizon. This is an exemplary model of a traditional hieratic Egyptian statue. Her dress and jewelry are engraved simply in the stone, without any lavish detail. She is, however, a queen, as the uraeus, or cobra, on her forehead indicates. Reared up, it stands at the top of her head, which is covered with an unusual cap in the form of an open lotus. Her short wig has layers of curls and does not cover her ears. Carved from a dark piece of diorite, the work was simply polished and apparently unpainted; it is astonishing in its sober, majestic bearing.