egypt-museum: Statue of Sheikh el-BaladSheikh el-Balad, Arabic title for the chief of the village, w
egypt-museum: Statue of Sheikh el-BaladSheikh el-Balad, Arabic title for the chief of the village, was the name given to this remarkable wooden statue discovered by the workmen of Auguste Mariette, the French archaeologist, because it resembled their own village chief.The statue depicts Kaaper, the chief lector priest, in charge of reciting prayers for the deceased in temples and funerary chapels. It is one of the masterpieces of the private statuary of the Old Kingdom. The eyes are inlaid; the rim is made out of copper and the white is of opaque quartz, while the cornea is made out of rock crystal. At the time of its discovery by Auguste Mariette, an unpopular mayor in the village had died, and when the local workmen looked into the eyes of this statue they believed that he had returned. Thus, Mariette dubbed it the Sheikh el-Balad, The Headman of the Village.Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty, ca. 2494-2345 BC. Sycamore wood, from Saqqara necropolis. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. CG 34 -- source link