Torso of a High General

This statue's short kilt and striding pose are favored for the statues of high officials during the fourth century, and were certainly chosen for their evocation of the great tradition stretching back to the Old Kingdom. Although the owner's name is broken away, the long inscription indicates the individual had a high general's title, held offices at Busiris and performed restorations there and in Abydos for damages that resulted from "the foreigners," a description that must refer to the Persian occupation.Indeed, works at Abydos during dynasty 30 are documented by archaeological and inscriptional evidence. Moreover, the strongly modeled chest musculature and details of the style seem to fit well in Dynasty 30, perhaps even the reign of Nectanebo I (380–343 b.c.), suggesting that the statue's inscription may indeed be a contemporary account by a high military official.