The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Striding Statue of Minnefer

c. 2377–2311 BCE

Egypt, Giza, Old Kingdom , Dynasty 5

(2647–2124 BCE)
painted limestone
Overall: 53.8 x 14.4 x 23.4 cm (21 3/16 x 5 11/16 x 9 3/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1948.420
Location: 107 Egyptian

Did You Know?

In the Old Kingdom, wigs like the one Minnefer wears here were used to demonstrate higher social status.

Description

The base of this statue is inscribed with the name and title of the supervisor of palace attendants, Minnefer. He is represented as young and athletic, hands at his sides and left foot forward, the typical striding pose for male figures. To make the statue more lifelike, the flesh areas were originally painted reddish brown, the wig black, and the kilt white. This was one of four statues of Minnefer that were found in the serdab (sealed statue chamber) of his ruined mastaba (tomb) in the cemetery west of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Most Old Kingdom private statues were concealed in this way. The statue was regarded as more than just a representation. Once the proper rites had been performed, it functioned as a substitute for the deceased individual and could partake of food offerings necessary for the survival of his ka, or vital spirit.
  • 1936-1948
    Giza, western cemetery, tomb G 2427, excavations of the Boston Museum-Harvard University Expedition, 1936, register no. 36-5-40. Formerly in the Egyptian collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 37.637
  • Reisner, George A. "Note on objects assigned to the museum by the Egyptian government." Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts 36, no. 214 (1938): 26-32. Mentioned: p. 26; Reproduced: p. 27, fig. 2
    Smith, William Stevenson, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A History of Egyptian Sculpture and Painting in the Old Kingdom. London: Pub. on behalf of the Museum of fine arts, Boston, U.S.A., by the Oxford University Press, G. Cumberlege (1946): 75 (2427, 4) Mentioned: p. 75
    Comstock, Helen. "The Connoisseur in America: An Egyptian Statuette of the Old Kingdom." The Connoisseur 124 (December 1949): p. 114-120, reproduced on p. 120. Mentioned: p. 114-120; Reproduced: p. 120.
    Wunderlich, Silvia. "An Old Kingdom Egyptian Statuette." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 36, no. 4 (April 1949): 43-44. Reproduced: front cover; Mentioned: p. 43 www.jstor.org
    Wunderlich, Silvia. "Diorite Torso of a General." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 36, no. 6 (June 1949): 99-101. Mentioned: p. 100 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 3 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Martha L. Carter. Egyptian Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: The Museum, 1963. Reproduced: p. 4; Mentioned: p. 5 archive.org
    Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced: p. 126-127; Mentioned: p. 126-127
    Gresser, Noah. "The Effects of the Late Egyptian Canon on Greek Statues." CORVUS: The Journal of the Carleton University Classics Society,XIII. Carleton University (2022-2023): 47-74. Mentioned: p. 49-53; Reproduced: p. 63, fig. 4.
  • {{cite web|title=Striding Statue of Minnefer|url=false|author=|year=c. 2377–2311 BCE|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1948.420