Bust of Prince Ankhhaf

In ancient Egypt, artists almost never created true portraits. This bust of Ankhhaf, therefore, breaks the rule. It is made of limestone covered with a thin layer of plaster, into which details have been modeled by the hand of a master. Rather than a stylized representation, the face is of an individual. From inscriptions in his tomb, we know that Ankhhaf was the son of a king, probably Sneferu, brother of another, Khufu, and that he served Khafre as vizier and overseer of works. In this last capacity, he may have overseen the building of the second pyramid and carving of the sphinx. Ankhhaf's features are those of a mature man. His skull shows a receding hairline. His eyelids droop slightly over eyes originally painted white with brown pupils. Puffy pouches are rendered underneath. Diagonal furrows set off a stern mouth. Apparently, he once had a short beard made from a separate piece of plaster. It was lost in antiquity, as were his ears. His gaze is that of a commanding and willful man, someone who was accustomed to having his orders obeyed. It was the way he wanted to be remembered for eternity. Ankhhaf's mastaba was the largest in the great Eastern Cemetery at Giza. His bust was installed in a mudbrick chapel attached to the east side of the tomb and oriented so that it faced the chapel's entryway. The chapel walls were covered in exquisitely modeled low relief. It has been suggested that Ankhhaf's arms were sculpted on the low pedestal on which he sat, thereby making him appear even more lifelike. Passersby left more than ninety models of food and drink for Ankhhaf to enjoy in the afterlife. Ankhhaf is unique, and by the terms of the Museum's contract with the Egyptian government, he should have gone to the Cairo Museum. However, he was awarded to Boston by the Antiquities Service in gratitude for the Harvard-Boston Expedition's painstaking work to excavate and restore objects from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres. ProvenanceFrom Giza, tomb G 7510. 1925: excavated by the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; 1927: assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Egypt.(Accession Date: July 7, 1927) Photography and photogrammetry by Zhejiang University.古埃及的艺术家几乎从未创作过写实肖像，因此这尊安克哈夫（Ankhhaf）胸像打破了这一惯例。该胸像以石灰岩为基底，表面覆盖薄层灰泥，由大师亲手在灰泥层上塑造出诸多细节。其面部并未采用程式化的表现手法，而是精准还原了某位个体的真实样貌。从其墓中的铭文可知，安克哈夫为某位国王之子，大概率是斯尼夫鲁（Sneferu），同时也是胡夫（Khufu）的兄弟，曾担任哈夫拉（Khafre）的维齐尔（vizier）与工程总监。凭借这一职务，他或许曾监督第二座金字塔的修建与狮身人面像（sphinx）的雕刻工作。 安克哈夫的面容尽显成熟男性特征：颅骨处可见后退的发际线，眼睑微微下垂，原本的眼部被绘为白色底搭配棕色瞳孔，眼下可见浮肿的眼袋，唇周的斜向纹路更凸显出其严肃的神态。据推测，他原本佩戴着一块独立灰泥制成的短胡须，双耳也一同在岁月流逝中遗失。他的目光威严果决，显然是一位习惯令行禁止的掌权者，这正是他希望被后世永恒铭记的形象。 安克哈夫的马斯塔巴（mastaba）墓是吉萨大东部墓地中规模最大的一座。其胸像被安置在连接墓东侧的泥砖礼拜堂内，朝向礼拜堂的入口。礼拜堂的墙面覆盖着工艺精湛的浅浮雕（low relief）。有观点认为，安克哈夫的手臂被雕刻在其落座的低矮基座上，以此进一步增强了整体的写实效果。过往的参拜者留下了九十余件饮食模型，供安克哈夫在来世享用。 安克哈夫胸像堪称独一无二。按照该博物馆与埃及政府的原有协议，这件文物本应归入开罗博物馆，但埃及古物局为感谢哈佛-波士顿探险队在海特佩斯王后（Queen Hetepheres）墓的发掘与修复工作中付出的艰辛努力，将其赠予了波士顿美术博物馆（Museum of Fine Arts, 简称MFA）。 【来源】出土于吉萨G 7510号墓。1925年：由哈佛大学-波士顿美术博物馆探险队发掘；1927年：埃及政府在出土文物分配中将其划归波士顿美术博物馆。【入藏日期：1927年7月7日】 摄影与摄影测量（photogrammetry）由浙江大学完成。