Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of the Scribe and Architect Kha

I was inspired by a video that @egyptologylessons posted on TikTok to write about this piece! This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is called โ€œThe Sculpted Statue of the Scribe and Architect Kha ๐“ˆ๐“‚ก๐“€ผโ€ and it is currently on display at the @museoegizio in Torino, Italy. My Nonno took this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ during one of his trips to the Museo Egizio!ย 

Statue of the Scribe and Architect Kha
A display at the Museo Egizio showing the Statue of the Scribe and Architect Kha

Kha ๐“ˆ๐“‚ก๐“€ผ was a scribe ๐“Ÿ๐“€€ and the royal architect under the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ (18th Dynasty) and he lived in Deir el-Medina. Khaโ€™s titles included โ€œHead of the Great Place ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“Šจ๐“๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“๐“›,โ€ โ€œOverseer of the Works ๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‚“๐“๐“€‹ in the Great House ๐“‰๐“‰ปโ€ and โ€œRoyal Scribe ๐“‡“๐“ž.โ€ 

Fun Fact!!! Did you know that the โ€œGreat Place ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“Šจ๐“๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“๐“›โ€ is how the ancient Egyptians referred to the Valley of the Kings?

Khaโ€™s ๐“ˆ๐“‚ก๐“€ผ high rank as an official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ allowed for him to have an elaborate burial for himself – most Egyptians would not have been able to afford something like this! 

What strikes me most about Khaโ€™s ๐“ˆ๐“‚ก๐“€ผ tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ is how these wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ objects (the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ and the chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ) are so well preserved! Wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is organic and can decay very quickly even Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! The flower ๐“ท๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“†ฐ collar ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ around the neck of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is even still there – thatโ€™s so remarkable!

I also love how the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures are included in this display! The ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures are made out of steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ which is a very durable type of stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok