STATUE OF BAK-EN-KHONSOU

(XIXth DYNASTY) '

The Glyptothek in Munich possesses a fine statue of a High-Priest of Amraon, named Bak-en-Khonsou, who was also Superintendent of Public Works under Seti 1 and Ramsès II. He is represented, in the Egyptian style,, sit — ting on the ground with his arms folded across his knees. The inscriptions, of which a translation here foliows, cover the legs, back, and lower part of the statue. They hâve already been published and translated by the late Théodule Devéria, Monument biographique de Bakenkhonsou , in the Mémoires de /’ Institut égyptien, t. Ier, Paris, 1862 ; by professor J. Lauth, Der Hohepriester und Oberbaumeister Bokenclions, Leipzig, 1863; and by Dr. H. Brugsch-Bey in his Geschichte Aegyptens, Leipzig, 1877.

It would appear from the inscriptions (as Devéria justly observes) that Bak-en-Khonsou himself caused his statue to be executed during his lifetime, when he was 86 years of âge. Egyptian epitaphs show us many cases in which the deceased appear to extol their own virtues, and in this

1. Publié dans les Records of the Past, P1 Sériés, t. XII, p. 117-

instance modesty is certainly not prédominant in the High- Priest’s estimate of bis qualifications. Having completed his statue to his satisfaction, and taken care that no meritorious act of his life should be forgotten, he entreats, as a recompense from his god, the favour of a prolonged existence.