Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Pair Statue of Nebsen and Nebet-ta

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Pair Statue of Nebsen and Nebet-ta

Nebsen, the scribe of the royal treasury, and his wife, the songstress of Isis, Nebet-ta, wear the elaborate wigs fashionable in the later Eighteenth Dynasty. Their jewelry, painted yellow to imitate gold, was varnished to make it shine; the varnish has darkened with time. The inscription tells us that the statue was made for the couple's tomb by their son, Weserhat. In fulfilling this filial duty after their deaths, he had them depicted in the fashion of his day, rather than that current under Thutmose III, when they actually lived.


• Medium: Limestone, painted
• Possible Place Collected: Dahamsha, Egypt
• Dates: ca. 1400-1352 B.C.E.
• Dynasty: XVIII Dynasty
• Period: New Kingdom
• Dimensions: 15 3/4 x 8 9/16 x 9 1/4 in. (40 x 21.8 x 23.5 cm)
• Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
• Accession Number: 40.523
• Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
• Image: Front, 40.523_view1_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph Pair Statue of Nebsen and Nebet-ta, ca. 1400-1352 B.C.E. Limestone, painted, 15 3/4 x 8 9/16 x 9 1/4 in. (40 x 21.8 x 23.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 40.523 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 40.523_view1_SL1.jpg)