Today marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the 4600 year- old statute of Pharaoh Menkaure (Mycerinus) and his Queen by a team of archaeologists from Harvard and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). Standing only 4 feet 8 inches tall, the treasure was unearthed below a room in the Valley Temple of the pyramid of Minkaure at Giza, Egypt. The expedition was led by the archaeologist George Reisner.
There is a familial, homey feeling to the pair; Reminiscing about his childhood visit to the MFA, New York Times art critic Holland Cotter writes "with their neat figures and confident smiles" the couple "looked like friends of my parents arriving for cocktails, straight from a spaceship."
The faces are stylized, yet their bodies are more life-like. He is gripping some cylinders in both hands and she has her right arm draped around his waist. The two signs of royalty are the nemes or headdress he wears and his beard.
There is an ongoing debate among history scholars whether the queen's role was simply one of subservience to her husband .
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