What is the purpose of the Khafre statue?

What is the purpose of the Khafre statue?

This Old Kingdom statue has an important function in Egyptian tombs as substitute abodes for the Pharaoh’s ka—the life force that accompanied a person with a kind of other self. After death, the ka leaves the body into the afterlife, but still needs a place to rest: the statue.

What is the purpose of a Ka statue?

A ka statue is a type of ancient Egyptian statue intended to provide a resting place for the ka (life-force or spirit) of the person after death. The ancient Egyptians believed the ka, along with the physical body, the name, the ba (personality or soul), and the šwt (shadow), made up the five aspects of a person.

What was Khafre’s statue made of?

Khafre, of the Old Kingdom’s Dynasty IV, is best known for his pyramid (one of the three Great Pyramids of Gizeh) and the Sphinx which bears his likeness. The material of this statue, which is approximately life-size, is diorite, an extremely hard stone and chosen for its sense of permanence—the permanence of kingship.

What is carved on the side of Khafre’s throne?

Khafre sits on a lion throne, a royal chair with legs carved to resemble lions. The side panels of the chair display the hieroglyphic sign that proclaims that Upper and Lower Egypt are united into a single political entity.

What did Khafre do as a pharaoh?

Dynasty: 4 Khafre is most famous for being the builder of the second pyramid at Giza. He succeeded his brother, Djedefre who had only reigned for eight years before he died. Khafre’s reign appears to have been very prosperous.

What is the God ka?

ka, in ancient Egyptian religion, with the ba and the akh, a principal aspect of the soul of a human being or of a god. The ka survived the death of the body and could reside in a picture or statue of a person.

Why was the ka important?

Ka is the life force or spiritual double of the person. The royal Ka symbolized a pharaoh’s right to rule, a universal force that passed from one pharaoh to the next.

Who built the pyramid of Khafre?

Who built the pyramid? It is said that this pyramid was built under the command of Pharaoh Khafre, who was the son of Cheops and father of Menkaure, to whom the other two pyramids of the same funerary complex were dedicated.

What period was the statue of Khafre?

Khafre Enthroned is a funerary statue of the Pharaoh Khafre, who reigned during the Fourth dynasty of ancient Egypt (c. 2570 BC). It is now located in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Why was Khafre enthroned created?

Perhaps it was intended for no one, simply meant to reenact Khafre’s vision of kingship within his cult for eternity. Another option is that it was meant to impress this vision of kingship upon the priesthood and members of the elite who participated in the pharaoh’s mortuary cult.

Who did Khafre marry?

Khafre was the son of King Khufu and succeeded the short-lived Redjedef, probably his elder brother. He married his sister Khamerernebti, Meresankh III, and perhaps two other queens.

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