The sculpture group of King Menkaure and His Queen is positioned in one of
the basic types of Egyptian sculpture – the Standing/Striding pose. The figure
of Menkaure is rigidly frontal, although his head is slightly turned to the
right. His left foot is slightly advanced, however the upper body does not
respond to this uneven distribution of weight - there is no tilt in the
shoulders, nor a shift in the hips. All movement of the figure is suppressed:
his muscular arms hang down his athletic body, they are not flexed at the elbow
and do not break through the front contour of his thighs.
The body remains wedded to the block of stone from which it was carved. The
artist does not remove the “dead stone” between the arms and torso and most
importantly his advanced leg is not carved in the round, which contributes to
the solid and majestic appearance of the statue. The Queen assumes the same
rigidly frontal posture, however her left leg is less advanced than his, which
alludes that she is a subordinate figure to her king – in this stance she is
just echoing the pharaoh’s decisive actions.
She embraces the pharaoh with her right arm placing her hand around his
waist; her left arm is bent at the elbow and covering her stomach rests on the
king’s left arm. There is a space of about couple of centimeters between the
statues that widens towards the base, and which makes Menkaure appear standing
independently from his female counterpart. In this frontal, striding forward
posture the pharaoh looks confident and in control. The Queen, however, cannot
be thought of as an independent statue.
First of all, the statue of the king overlaps that of the queen: her right
shoulder becomes fused with and overlapped by his left shoulder. Second of all,
she has both of her arms around him and not the other way around. Although her
appearance conveys the message of majesty and serenity, to me she also appears
to be a subordinate figure to that of King Menkaure. Perhaps, this is due to the
fact that she stands a step behind him, is being overlapped by his figure and
she is the one embracing the pharaoh.
The statue group is left unfinished. The most finished parts are the heads,
torsos, and king’s feet. The queen’s feet were carved out and left unpolished.
The side view of the group offers a great contrast between the rough texture of
the stone and its polished one. The back slab goes up to the shoulders of the
figures without revealing their backs.
It carries a supportive structure for the statues and is not touched up by
the artist. This could be indicative of two things: either the group was simply
unfinished or was meant to be placed in the niche or stand against a corridor
wall. At first sight the facial features of the figures seem to be idealized,
but upon closer examination one realizes that they are highly individualized.
The face of the pharaoh takes on a squarish shape, his eyes are not deeply set
in within their sockets, the nose is short and turned up, the lips are full, the
cheeks are protruding, his ears are rather prominent. The queen’s face is round
and fleshy.
The almond-shaped eyes, snub-nose, small mouth with full lips and elongated
neck – seem to be rather more realistic features than idealized. Menkaure is
wearing a royal headpiece – nemes. It consists of linen head cloth that covers
most of his forehead, tucked in behind the ears with pleated folds falling over
his shoulders. The queen is wearing a ceremonial wig common among the females.
The wig is parted in the middle, tucked in behind the ears and falls down her
shoulders. Menkaure is wearing a short royal kilt, and the queen – a thin
garment that reveals more of her body than it actually conceals, clearly
distinguishing the protruding breasts and pubic triangle. The calm and
confidence reflecting the royal dignity of this group statue is achieved through
compactness and solidity of the composition.
