This group of statues portrays the family of Neferherenptah, a Wah priest who supervised the funerary cult of the two great kings of the Fourth Dynasty, Khufu and Menkaure.
Neferherenptah, also known as Fifi, the head of the family is represented as a characteristic pose for male statuary. His statue rests on a base that rises at the back to form a wide dorsal pillar. Both pillar and base are painted black although areas of this colour are now faded.
Fifi wears a medium-length curly black wig that covers his ears completely. A white and blue usekh necklace hangs around his neck. He is dressed in a short white kilt with a belt in relief at the waist. Fifi's plump face has large painted eyes with blue irises topped by long raised eyebrows that follow the shape of his eyes slanting gently down at the outer ends. His calm gaze appears to be directed heavenwards. His nose is fairly large and broad and a narrow moustache above his small, fleshy mouth provides a decorative touch.
Fifi's body is well proportioned and with visible if not prominent muscles. Regardless of its relatively small size and a certain rigidity of form, this statuette is an appealing example of the sculpture produced at the end of the Fifth Dynasty. Inside the serdab Fifi's tomb his statuette was placed in the centre, between his daughter (on the left) and his wife (right), while the couple's son was on the far side of his sister.
The statuette of Satmeret, Fifi's wife, stands on a low base with a dorsal pillar. Her rather stiff pose contrasts with the bright colours that are a striking feature of the statuette. Smaller in size than her husband, Satmeret is portrayed standing with her arms held rigidly against her body, hands on her thighs. She is wearing a medium-length black wig, its curls created with tiny grooves. On her forehead, her real hair can just be seen beneath the edge of the wig. The rigidity of her body is also reflected in her facial features: her wide-open eyes have dilated pupils, painted black. Her nose is short and her mouth appears to be firmly closed. Around her neck, she wears a multicoloured collar and a wide usekh necklace comprised of rows painted blue, white and red. Hanging from the necklace is another adornment: a wide rectangular band formed of rows of variously coloured beads, adding a colourful note to her white robe. The robe is tight-fitting and long, reaching to her calves. The fabric is meant to be flimsy and elegant, revealing the form of her body underneath. Her well-rounded breasts, stomach muscles and shapely legs - barely concealed - offer a striking, perhaps even deliberate contrast with the conventional posture and rigidity of the rest of the sculpture.
Although the statuette of Itisen, the couple's son, is smaller in size he is depicted as an adult rather than a child. He is sitting on a cube-shaped seat with a plinth but no back. His clenched right hand is placed vertically on his knee, his left hand is palm down. He is wearing a curly black wig, shorter than his father's, that follows the lines of his face. Around his neck is the white outline (not painted) of a broad necklace. He is clothed in a short white kilt with a pleated border, held up by a belt with a small piece of material projecting from it.
Itisen has a rather round face and large eyes with black-painted pupils surmounted by painted eyebrows in relief. His nose is neatly shaped, and his slightly protruding mouth is not wide but has fleshy lips. His slender neck is set on broad shoulders that contrast with his lean torso, divided vertically by a median groove that narrows noticeably towards the waist. Although thin his knees and legs are meticulously carved; their shape makes it possible to visualize the bone structure beneath. His skin is painted dark ochre. Like the statuettes of his parents, Itisen is also characterized by a marked rigidity of form, only partly relieved and brightened by the strong colours.
Of the four statuettes found in the serdab of Neferherenptah's mastaba, that of Meretites, sister of Itisen, is the most expressive. Admittedly it lacks much of the colour that in some way gives life and luminosity to the others, but the almost ecstatic look of Meretite's face and the soft lines of her body confer a particular elegance and hieratic grace. Slightly larger than her brother he is represented in the classic seated pose with her hands open, palms down on her knees. She is wearing an ankle-length robe and as a note of adornment, a broad, unpainted necklace. Covering her head is a rather voluminous, medium-length wig with tiny braids that start from a central parting. On her forehead, her real hair can just be seen beneath the edge of the wig. She is leaning her head very slightly backwards with the result that her rather wide face seems to be turned upwards. Her eyes too appear to be raised towards some unknown point and have an almost inspired look. Her nose is regular and her mouth, carved with soft, precise lines, has pronounced lips. Meretites has a straight back, less prominent breasts than her mother and more rounded torso and hips. She appears to have been fashioned in keeping with older aesthetic canons dating back to between the end of the Third and the beginning of the Fourth Dynasties.
(Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, ed. Tiraditti)
From priest's mastaba tomb,
Giza cemetery
JE 87804, JE 87805, JE 87806, JE 87807
Egyptian Museum, Cairo