Sculptor's model depicting male head

Object Details

• Label

  Fragments such as this one carved in low relief have been identified as "sculptor's trials" or "sculptor's models," and were used in Egypt from the Third Dynasty to Ptolemaic times. The reliefs were used to aid sculptors in instructing apprentices about the canonical Egyptian grid. The models are often "framed" by L-shaped borders, which could have been used as depth measures. The human subjects of the sculptor's models were most often idealized versions of royal heads with headcloths or uraeus crowns. The animals used in hieroglyphic writing (the alphabet and royal titularies) were most commonly modelled.

• Provenance

  To 1908

  Michel Casira, Cairo, to 1908 [1]

  From 1908 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Michel Casira, Cairo, in 1908 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Micellaneous List, S.I. 55, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt (January 28, 2023 to 2025)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Michel Casira (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Egypt

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Freer Gallery 20: A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Casira, Michel

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Saite Dynasty 26 (664 - 525 BCE), Ancient Egyptian Art, Woman, Stone

• Culture

  Egyptians

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes