The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 22, 2026

A sculpture made from granodiorite, a black rock, depicts a court official kneeling behind the god Thoth in baboon form squatting on an altar. The official has shoulder-length straight hair carved with fine lines, a plain tunic, and grips the sides of the altar. The baboon has eyes with defined lids, hands resting on his knees. Both these figures look straight out. Hieroglyphics, a pictorial writing system, mark the altar and wrap the sculpture's pedestal.

Statue of Minemheb

c. 1391–1353 BCE

Egypt, New Kingdom

(1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BCE)
granodiorite
Overall: 45 x 16.6 x 28.3 cm (17 11/16 x 6 9/16 x 11 1/8 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1996.28
Location: 107 Egyptian

Did You Know?

The baboon in this sculpture is the god Thoth in one of his animal forms.

Description

Minemheb was one of the many court officials who helped prepare for Amenhotep III's 30-year jubilee festival. Clearly, Minemheb regarded this as the high point of his career, since his title as chief of construction for the jubilee temple is the primary one provided on this statue. It is actually a statue within a statue: Minemheb kneels to present a small altar, upon which squats a statue of the god Thoth in baboon form. Carved in extremely hard stone, Minemheb's statue is nonetheless carefully detailed and superbly modeled. Special attention was given to the rendering of the baboon's face. The heavy-lidded eyes and furrowed brow give the animal an almost contemplative expression.
  • 1957-1972
    E. G. Massey, Geneva, OH
    ?-1996
    Robert Haber and Associates, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1996-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Kozloff, Arielle P., Betsy Morrell Bryan, Lawrence Michael Berman, and Elisabeth Delange. Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1992. Cat. No. 40
    Cleveland Museum of Art, “Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Rare Egyptian Sculpture, Old Master Painting, Important Cambodian Bronze,” June 13, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Kozloff, Arielle. "An Old Friend Returns," Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 37, no. 1 (January 1997). pp. 4-5 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. 233-235; Mentioned: p. 233-235
    May, Sally Ruth. Knockouts: a pocket guide. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reproduced: no. 7, p. 12
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 72-73
    “A Walking Tour: The entire new museum wing by wing, with curators calling out a few favorite works in the collection.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 54, no. 1 (January/February 2014): 8-33. Reproduced: p. 11; Mentioned: p. 10 archive.org
  • Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 1-September 27, 1992); Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (October 24, 1992-January 31, 1993); Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 75008 Paris, France (March 2-May 31, 1993).
  • {{cite web|title=Statue of Minemheb|url=false|author=|year=c. 1391–1353 BCE|access-date=22 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1996.28