id:			101392
accession number:	1920.2004
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1920.2004
updated:		2023-08-26 11:09:30.892000

Seated Scribe of Medthu, c. 1479–1425 BC. Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (1540-1296 BC), reign of Tutmosis III. Limestone, originally painted; overall: 30.5 x 18.9 x 24.1 cm (12 x 7 7/16 x 9 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1920.2004

title:				Seated Scribe of Medthu
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1479–1425 BC
creation date earliest:		-1479
creation date latest:		-1425
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
copyright:			

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culture:	Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (1540-1296 BC), reign of Tutmosis III
technique:	limestone, originally painted
department:	Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
collection:	Egypt - New Kingdom
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	Eel-Salmiya, opposite Armant
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 30.5 x 18.9 x 24.1 cm (12 x 7 7/16 x 9 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Exhibition of the Month: Egypt
	opening date:   1952-10-03T05:00:00
	<i>Exhibition of the Month: Egypt</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 3-December 28, 1952).

	title:		Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture
	opening date:   1975-09-24T04:00:00
	<i>Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

	title:		Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt
	opening date:   2016-03-13T05:00:00
	<i>Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 13-June 12, 2016).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* <em>Publicity Campaign</em>, State Theatre, Cleveland, OH (28 September-16 October 1922).

* <em>Juxtapositions, </em>The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 10-October 10, 1965).

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PROVENANCE

	Unknown Dealer, Cairo, Egypt, through Howard Carter, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: -1920
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1920-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
The scribe statue has a long and distinguished history, having first appeared in Dynasty 4 (c. 2613 to 2494 BC).

digital description:


wall description:
Medthu, the overseer of the two granaries and scribe of accounts of the fields of Amen, sits cross-legged on the ground in the traditional pose of a scribe. His striated, bell-shaped wig, the stripes of which run parallel to his forehead, completely reveals his ears and passes behind his shoulders. His short, belted kilt is stretched tight to support he papyrus that is partly unrolled across his lap. He holds the rolled-up portion with his left hand, and his right hand rests flat on the papyrus, which curls around his right thigh. The papyrus is inscribed in sunk relief with seven columns of hieroglyphs that face the scribe.<br>The Middle Kingdom type of wig helps date the statue more closely to the earlier part of Dynasty 18, around the time of Tuthmosis III. Later in Dynasty 18 the coiffure was fashionably updated.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Cleveland Museum of Art, Gabriel P. Weisberg, and H. W. Janson. <em>Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture.</em> Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.
	page number: 	no. 10
	url:		

	Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač.<em> Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 220-221; Mentioned: p. 220-222
	url:		

	Vandenbeusch, Marie, Aude Semat, and Margaret Maitland. <em>Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt</em>. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art ; London : The British Museum, 2016.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 164, fig. 79
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.2004/1920.2004_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.2004/1920.2004_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.2004/1920.2004_full.tif