Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei (Budapest, 2007)
KATALIN ANNA KÓTHAY: A Defective Statuette from the Thirteenth Dynasty and the Sculptural Production of the Late Middle Kingdom
The large ears are set asymmetrically, the left one being placed lower down, so that the right lobe is level with the nose and the left with the mouth. The outer rims and the earlobes are thick, while the inner ears are crudely hollowed out without showing any detail. Middle Kingdom statues normally exhibit protruded ears, either pushed forward by the heavy wig or projecting from the shaven skull. The Budapest statuette, however, represents an example belonging to a small group of sculptures with ears resting flat against the head. 17 Placed widely apart, the eyes are large and asymmetric, the length of the right eye being 0.9 cm, that of the left 0.8 cm. The latter is positioned higher than the former. The eyes are set deep below the ridge of the brows under heavy upper lids, with round eyeballs bulging from their sockets, the right one being more protruding. The canthi are not modelled. The upper and lower lids meet at the outside corner of the left eye, while the upper lid of the right eye reaches the temple at the outer corner. The broadly arching eyebrows follow the curve of the upper lids. The small nose is triangular with a narrow bridge, the tip being somewhat flattened. Two grooves were cut on the two sides of the nose to define the broad wings. The nostrils are faintly depressed but not hollowed out. The distance between the nose and upper lip is short and the philtrum is not marked. The carelessly modelled mouth is small and consists of two shapeless and fleshy lips. The corners are especially crudely carved. The left end of the upper lip is thickened and drawn up. The lower lip slightly projects further than the upper. The small chin juts forward with a depression below the mouth. The body is disproportionate with a head to body ratio of about 1:4. The head is over-sized, the neck short and broad, while the hands and feet are large. Though the legs are covered by the long kilt revealing only the ankles and feet, the figure gives the impression that it is shorttrunked or short-legged. At first glance, the arms may look too long, as Bonifác Platz himself pointed out in his manuscript catalogue. 1K However, on closer observation it becomes clear that Platz's remark was made because of an optical illusion caused by the disproportions of the figure. With a well-proportioned body the arms would be of normal-length. The stylization of the Thirteenth Dynasty statuary is visible in the treatment of the body. The musculature is barely shown. The shoulders are sloped and look as if they were jutting forward in an artificial way, especially the left one, though the figure has an upright carriage. The collarbone is not suggested. The pectoral muscles are shown, albeit clumsily: the fleshy, asymmetrical breasts are outlined by an awkwardly modelled ridge, an irregular wavy line that on most late Middle Kingdom sculptures occurs as a sharp lateral delineation ol the breast •
