Reserve Head
Unknown Sculptor of the 4th Dynasty, Reign of Khufu
UNKNOWN SCULPTOR OF THE 4TH DYNASTY, REIGN OF KHUFU, c.2609-2584 BC. LIMESTONE.
The true function of these life-size sculptures is unknown. Found in the sub-tombs of non-royalty along the Nile and dating from 2551-2496B.C, nearly all known examples have the same seemingly intentional damage, consisting of damaged or removed ears and a deep carved line from the back of the cranium to the nape of the neck. Carved of smoothed but unpolished limestone, they are no idealised portraits the like would be made for private busts or death masks, but instead seem to be honest portraits of the deceased. Many theories persist but none are conclusive, and perhaps never will be. They take their name of ‘Reserve Heads’ from the early theory that these were spare vessels for the soul of the dead if something were to happen to their entombed body. Yet mystery surrounds these delicate portraits, and their otherwise simple forms are all the more enticing for the inherent unknowability of their function.