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A study appearing in by Dr. Zahi Hawass and Dr. Sarah Abdoh describes a unique Egyptian family statue.

The statue, made of limestone, was recovered from Gisr el-Mudir in Saqqara, Egypt, in 2021. It features a nobleman standing tall with his left foot forward—a stance typical of the Old Kingdom that represents youth, vitality, and strength.

He wears a short, locked wig as well as a half-goffered kilt. The sculptor gave great attention to the depiction of his upper body, especially his shoulders, clavicle area, pectoral muscles, and arms.

To his side is a woman, much smaller than he is, kneeling down and holding onto his right leg. She wears a shoulder-length wig, a broad collar, and a simple sheath dress.

The woman likely represented the wife of the man. Similar to other familial statues, she is depicted squatting beside her husband, her arms wrapped around his leg, and her face resting against it.

A similar depiction of the wife can be seen in the royal statue of Djedefre, where the queen squats beside her husband, holding onto his leg.

The third figure in the Gisr el-Mudir statue is the most unique. Unlike other family statues from Egypt, the young girl, likely representing the nobleman's daughter, is carved in bas-relief as opposed to in the round.

She stands in the space behind her father's left leg, her right arm extended outward to hold onto it. Meanwhile, in her right hand, she holds a goose, which may have served as provisions for the afterlife.

"It was common during the Old Kingdom to depict this scene. Since there are no wall scenes preserved in this tomb that we could see, the statue of the daughter holding a goose may have served the same function, representing provisions for the afterlife, just as the scenes would have done," explains Dr. Hawass.

The statue was found without context in the sands of Gisr el-Mudir, likely having been dropped or abandoned there by thieves looting the nearby tombs.

However, this lack of context makes it difficult to ascertain when the statue was created.

To determine the likely period of creation, the artistic style of the statue was analyzed and compared to other known family statues.

It appeared that the statue was most similar to other family statues created during the 5th Dynasty. Most particularly, the statue of Irukaptah. Housed in the Brooklyn Museum, the limestone statue is of almost identical height and distinctive style. It was also excavated at Saqqara and dates to the 5th Dynasty.

It depicts a nobleman, his left foot forward, wearing similar clothes and a wig to the nobleman from Gisr el-Mudir. On his left is his wife; she kneels beside him, similarly small, holding onto his leg.

Meanwhile, a son is depicted naked with a finger to his mouth (sometimes seen in depictions of children).

The statues are almost identical save for the position of the wives, which have been reversed, and the son is depicted in the round, while the Gisr el-Mudir daughter was depicted in bas-relief. The similarity in anatomical proportions, facial details, body positions, clothes, and wigs all suggest the two statues were created at the same time and likely came from the same "school" of art.

If so, the unique Gisr el-Mudir statue likely dates to the 5th Dynasty and depicts a father, together with his wife and daughter. The reasons for the daughter's having been carved in bas-relief are uncertain, as no other family statue is known to have done this. This makes the Gisr el-Mudir family statue the first of its kind in the Old Kingdom to depict a family member in such a unique way.

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