Quartzite statue of Peraha

From Egypt
New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty (around 1295-1213 BC)

Holding a naos and begging for offerings

Peraha holds a model of the shrine of the god Ptah, the creator god of Memphis. Statues in kneeling poses are common in ancient Egypt, as are those holding a model of a naos (temple shrine to a deity), but the pose adopted by the figure here is very unusual.. We can assume that the hand cupped to his mouth indicates that he is begging his deity for offerings while at the same time offering the naos as a gift.

The statue may come from a temple at Memphis. It may date to the early Nineteenth Dynasty (about 1295-1186 BC), suggested in particular by the style of Peraha's wig.

E.R. Russmann, Eternal Egypt: masterworks of (University of California Press, 2001)

S. Quirke and A.J. Spencer, The British Museum book of anc (London, The British Museum Press, 1992)