The Seated Dignitary


Statue of a priest from Karanis, Egypt, KM 8218

The Kelsey Museum's well-known "Seated Dignitary" statue is, in fact, an Egyptian-styled representation of a priest from the early Roman period (later 1st century AD), excavated in 1928 by the University of Michigan's expedition at the ancient site of Karanis (modern Kom Aushim). 

The statue is carved from black basalt and dates between AD 50 and 100. The figure is classically Egyptian in its formality and frontal, symmetrical orientation, but its proportions are not those of classical ancient Egyptian art--for example, the head is bigger than one would expect. Indeed, the Kelsey Museum statue is an important example of Egyptian traditional sculpture in its very late stages, all the more valuable because of its archaeological context.

The figure wears a traditional Egyptian short kilt but also a sash across his chest; the shaved head and costume show the man to have been a priest. The statue was found in a courtyard near the South Temple at Karanis, and the man it represents would have been a priest to the temple's two crocodile gods, Pnepheros and Petesouchos. The priest would have participated in the daily cult activities of the temple and its periodic festivals, and may even have been involved in oracles delivered by the crocodile gods or the mummification of actual crocodiles as votive offerings.

The Kelsey Museum statue has a number of parallels from elsewhere in the Fayum region, and a similar statue from Soknopaiou Nesos very closely resembles this example. Most of these statues are inscribed, some in Greek and some in Egyptian Demotic, and the Kelsey statue itself would have had an inscription on its base but was left unfinished: minor detailing work on the figure was not done, and the base and back pillar remain rough, in preparation for an inscription that was never written. Therefore, we do not know the name of our Karanis priest and can only guess about the specifics of his titles and duties from what is known generally about priests of his time.

The seated priest statue is currently on display in the Kelsey Museum's permanent installation of Graeco-Roman Egyptian objects, but it will be moving soon. The statue will be a key object in the exhibition "Karanis Revealed," opening September 16th.