Introduction

King Menkaure (2490-2472 B.C.) was the pharaoh who built the smallest of the three Great Pyramids at Giza. This sculpture of the king and his queen, Kha-merer-nebty, was found by archeologists from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in the pyramid temple of the king. Menkaure wears the royal head cloth, the royal pleated kilt, and a ceremonial false beard. In his hands, he would have held two staffs of office, the mace and the parrying tick, objects of war. Because these long, narrow staffs could not be carved from stone, they are shown here as short knobs in the king's hands.

Discussion

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