Detail View: The AMICA Library: Chair of Renyseneb

AMICA ID: 
MMA_.68.58
AMICA Library Year: 
2000
Object Type: 
Sculpture
Creator Nationality: 
African; North African; Egyptian
Creator Name-CRT: 
Egyptian
Title: 
Chair of Renyseneb
Title Type: 
Object name
View: 
Full View
Creation Date: 
ca. 1450 B.C.E.
Creation Start Date: 
-1460
Creation End Date: 
-1440
Materials and Techniques: 
Ebony, ivory
Dimensions: 
H. 35 in. (86.2 cm)
AMICA Contributor: 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: 
New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 
68.58
Credit Line: 
Purchase, Patricia R. Lassalle Gift, 1968
Rights: 
Context: 

The back of this wooden chair, which belonged to the scribe Renyseneb, is handsomely veneered with ivory and embellished by incised decoration showing the owner seated on a chair of identical form. It is the earliest surviving chair with such a representation, and it is the only nonroyal example known. The scene and accompanying text have funerary import and may have been added following Renyseneb's death to make the chair a more suitable funerary object. The high quality of its joinery and the harmony of its proportions testify to the skill of ancient Egyptian carpenters. The mesh seat has been restored following to ancient models.

Related Image Identifier Link: 
MMA_.eg68.58.R.tif