The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Head of King Userkaf

Head of King Userkaf

c. 2454–2447 BCE
(2647–2124 BCE), Dynasty 5, reign of Userkaf (2496–2491 BCE)
Overall: 6.5 x 7.2 cm (2 9/16 x 2 13/16 in.); Face: 4.8 x 4.8 cm (1 7/8 x 1 7/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Visible chisel marks on the side of the crown imply that another figure once stood to the king's right; only a god or goddess could have stood in this prominent position.

Description

Despite the monumental achievements of the Old Kingdom’s Pyramid Age, few images of its rulers survive. This head has been identified as King Userkaf, the first king of Dynasty 5. Userkaf built a modest pyramid at Saqqara and a temple to the sun god Ra at Abusir. According to later tradition, the first three kings of Dynasty 5 were the children of Ra himself and a mortal woman. From Userkaf’s reign on, the kings of Egypt were called "Sons of Ra." Here, Userkaf wears the two basic items of regalia that identify him as king: the tall, conical White Crown of Upper (southern) Egypt, and the royal false beard.
  • ?-1950
    Formerly in the collection of Prince Mohammed Ali, Cairo.
    1950-1972
    E. G. Massey, Geneva
    1972-1979
    Marianne Maspero, Paris, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1979-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1979." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 67, no. 3 (March 1980): 58-99. No. 1, Illus. p. 63 www.jstor.org
    “Principales Acquisitions Des Musées En 1979.” Gazette Des Beaux Arts, March 1980, 1–79. p. 26, no. 138
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Adele Z. Silver. Guide to the Galleries. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. p. 8, fig. 7
    Kozloff, Arielle P. "Weserkaf, Boy King of Dynasty V." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 69, no. 7 (1982): 211-23. pp. 211-23, figs. 1-3 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Arielle P. Kozloff. An Introduction to the Art of Egypt in the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: [The Museum], 1970. p. 4
    Kozloff, Arielle P. "The Egyptian Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art," Newsletter of the American Research Center in Egypt 125 (Spring 1984): 4-13. p. 12
    Verner, Miroslav. "Les Sculptures de Reneferef Descouvertes a Abousir," Bulletin de L'Institut Français D'Archéologie Orientale 85 (1985). p. 268
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 2 archive.org
    Berman, Lawrence M. "La Collection Egyptienne du Cleveland Museum of Art," Bulletin de la Société Française D'Egyptologie 134 (October 1995): 14-29. p. 27, fig. 8
    Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Mentioned: p. 124-125; Reproduced: p. 124, color p. 44
    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. 71
    Verner, Miroslav. Abusir XXVIII: The Statues of Raneferef and the Royal Sculpture of the Fifth Dynasty. Prague: Charles University, Faculty of Arts 2017. Reproduced: p. 37-39
  • Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984).
    Year in Review: 1979. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 13-March 9, 1980).
    The Year in Review for 1979, Cleveland Museum of Art, (February 13 - March 9, 1980).
  • {{cite web|title=Head of King Userkaf|url=false|author=|year=c. 2454–2447 BCE|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1979.2