A daughter carved in bas-relief may upend everything we thought we knew about Old Kingdom art

The Gisr el-Mudir family statue in question. Credit: Dr. Zahi Hawass

In 2021, archaeologists digging at Gisr el-Mudir in Saqqara uncovered a limestone statue buried in the sand. At first, it seemed like many others from Egypt’s Old Kingdom—a standing man with his left foot forward, a familiar pose meant to show energy and vitality. But as they analyzed the statue in more detail, it quickly became clear that this one was different.

Kneeling beside the man’s leg was a woman, likely his wife, and peeking out from behind the other leg was a child, their daughter, cradling a goose. Unlike the others, she was etched in high relief, as if half-melded to the stone. And that, scholars now say, is completely unexpected.

The Stone Trio

The statue stands just over one meter (40 inches) tall. The nobleman wears a short, lappet-style wig and a pleated kilt. His torso is chiseled with anatomical detail, the work of an experienced artist who clearly studied the human form. On his right leg, his wife kneels in a simple sheath dress and shoulder-length wig, her head resting gently against him.

This pose echoes traditional artistic themes of spousal loyalty, seen in multiple royal statues. But what sets this piece apart is the little girl behind the man’s left leg.

Her right hand clutches his limb. Her left cradles a goose, whose beak opens in mid-honk. “The scene depicting the daughter with a goose reflects daily life,” said Dr. Zahi Hawass in an interview with Live Science.

However, she is the only figure not carved in the round. Instead, she emerges from the flat stone in bas-relief—a technique familiar from wall carvings, but never before used in freestanding statues of this kind from Egypt’s Old Kingdom. This seemingly small innovation has researchers all excited.

“This striking artistic choice positions the statue as the only known example of its kind from the Old Kingdom,” Hawass added. “By integrating two sculptural traditions within a single monument, the artist exhibited a remarkable spirit of experimentation.”

Ancient Artists, New Ideas

 

The bas-relief girl, the nobleman’s daughter, holding on to his left leg, holding the goose. Credit: Dr. Zahi Hawass

For decades, Egyptologists viewed Old Kingdom sculpture as rigidly formal, adhering to established proportions, poses, and techniques. Artists were thought to be skilled but constrained, following visual formulas with little room for variation. But this statue tells another story.

The girl’s high-relief carving reveals that Egyptian sculptors of the Fifth Dynasty were capable of blending methods. And that blend may not have been a one-off.

Researchers compared the statue with another well-known work: the limestone statue of Irukaptah, now housed at the Brooklyn Museum. That piece, also from Saqqara and also dated to the Fifth Dynasty, bears striking similarities—the nobleman’s stance, clothing, wig, and even his wife’s placement are almost identical. In that statue, however, a son is depicted fully in the round.

The similarities suggest both statues came from the same artistic “school of thought,” or perhaps even the same workshop. But only the Gisr el-Mudir statue dares to mix dimensions.

The False Door

Despite its artistry, the statue was found without a tomb, chapel, or inscriptions. Researchers have little idea in what context to place it. This suggests it may have been discarded or looted long ago. But there was one clue: a false door found nearby, inscribed with the name “Messi.”

“I found the statue hidden under the sand, and nearby was a false door inscribed with the name ‘Messi,’” Hawass wrote in an email to Live Science.

In ancient Egyptian belief, false doors allowed the spirit of the deceased to pass between this world and the next. If this statue once stood near that door, it may have served as a conduit—connecting generations through art, love, and stone.

For all its small stature, the statue from Gisr el-Mudir is forcing Egyptologists to rethink long-held assumptions.

Where previous generations saw only convention, this piece reveals creativity. Where art was thought to be fixed, it now appears flexible. And where families were once rendered in static formality, here they are intimate—reaching for each other, tethered by hands, limbs, and the offering of a goose.

“The discovery of this statue is unparalleled in the field of Egyptian art,” said Hawass. “[It] stands apart from other known family statues of the Old Kingdom.”