Raherka and Meresankh

Raherka and Meresankh (Raherka: "Ra = the Sun god" and Meresankh: "she loves life") is a group statue of an ancient Egyptian couple of the 4th Dynasty or 5th Dynasty.

Raherka and Meresankh
Raherka and Merseankh-E 15592

Artist	Anonymous
Year	2350s BCE
Medium	limestone, paint
Dimensions	52.8 cm (20.8 in) × 17.6 cm (6.9 in) × 21.3 cm (8.4 in)
Location	Room 635, display case 14, France
Collection	Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre
Accession No.	E 15592

Raherka and Meresankh in hieroglyphs

[1]
Raherka

[1]
Meresankh
"she loves life"

Background

Raherka held high administrative responsibilities. He was an "inspector of scribes of the jackal". Meresankh's title was "King's acquaintance", which means she had access to the royal palace.[2]

Statue

The couple is known from their beautiful pair-statue now in the Louvre (E 15592), which is an example of portraiture in Ancient Egypt. The statue is carved from limestone and is 52.8 centimetres (20.8 in) high. The husband and wife are carefully modeled with Raherka's figure showing musculature. The pair-statue is painted in multiple colors. The husband is rendered in the traditional red skin color used for males, while his wife Meresankh is painted in a yellow toned skin color which was standard for that time. The wigs and eyeliners are painted black.[2]

The statue of Raherka and Meresankh has been compared to that of the dwarf Seneb and his family. In both statues the wife is shown warmly embracing her husband.[3]

The German Egyptologists Hermann Junker had dated the pair statue to the end of the Old Kingdom, and it has been suggested that the statue dates to the 5th Dynasty.[4] Others have suggested that the pose of the wife and the names point to the 4th Dynasty.[5]

The statue was found in 1902 by Montague Ballard and probably comes from tomb D 37 which is located in the Steindorff cemetery in Giza. Fragments of another statue depicting a woman carrying a child were found just north of the tomb and are now in the Leipzig Museum (Inv. 2446).[1]

References

Porter, Bertha and Moss, Rosalind, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings Volume III: Memphis, Part I Abu Rawash to Abusir. 2nd edition; revised and augmented by Dr Jaromir Malek, 1974. Retrieved from gizapyramids.org
Raherka and Meresankh
Strudwick, Helen The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Amber Books, 2006. ISBN 978-1-904687-99-3, pp 262-263
Alexandra Bonfante-Warren, The Louvre, Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 2000, p 57
Kunst des Alten Reiches:Symposium im Deutschen Archäologischen Institut Kairo, am 29. und 30. Oktober 1991, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut. Abteilung Kairo, P. von Zabern, 1995, pp 36-37

Louvre Museum

Building
Louvre Colonnade Lescot Wing Pavillon de Flore Pavillon de l’Horloge Louvre Pyramid Pyramide inversée Cour Carrée Louvre Castle

Antiquities

Near East and Middle East	'Ain Ghazal Statue Stele of the Vultures Statue of Ebih-Il Manishtushu Obelisk Victory Stele of Naram-Sin Narundi Lament for Ur Amarna letter EA 362 Amarna letter EA 364 Amarna letter EA 365 Amarna letter EA 367 Worshipper of Larsa Baal with Thunderbolt Bushel with ibex motifs Cippi of Melqart Code of Hammurabi Gudea cylinders Hurrian foundation pegs Investiture of Zimri-Lim Land grant to Marduk-apla-iddina I by Meli-Shipak II Land grant to Munnabittu kudurru Lion of Mari Mesha Stele Namara inscription Nazareth Inscription Nazimaruttaš kudurru stone Statue of Iddi-Ilum Tiara of Saitaferne Stele of Zakkur Ziwiye hoard
Ancient Egypt	Gebel el-Arak Knife The Seated Scribe Banishment Stela Bentresh stela Bronze Sphinx of Thutmose III Cosmetic Spoon: Young Girl Swimming Dendera zodiac Great Sphinx of Tanis Khonsuemheb and the Ghost Raherka and Meresankh Stela of Pasenhor Tomb of Akhethetep Bull Palette Hunters Palette Statue of Karomama
Greece and Rome, Etruscan	Rampin Rider Venus de Milo Winged Victory of Samothrace Albani lion Antinous Mondragone Apollo of Mantua Apollo of Piombino Ares Borghese Athena of Velletri Borghese Gladiator Borghese Vase Diana of Gabii Diana of Versailles The Exaltation of the Flower Furietti Centaurs Venus Genetrix Lady of Auxerre Marcellus as Hermes Logios Apollo Sauroctonos Statue of the Tiber river with Romulus and Remus Venus and Mars Venus of Arles Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus Antioch mosaics Barberini ivory Borghese Collection Boscoreale Treasure Dinos of the Gorgon Painter Eurytios Krater Hercules and the lion of Nemea Judgement of Paris (mosaic) Nazareth Inscription Antinous Mondragone Borghese Venus Diana of Gabii Furietti Centaurs Gladiator Mosaic Hera Borghese Antinous Mondragone Apollo Belvedere Cupid and Psyche (Capitoline Museums) Dying Gaul Furietti Centaurs Sleeping Ariadne Sleeping Hermaphroditus Statue of the Tiber river with Romulus and Remus Winged Lion of Vulci
Byzantine	Harbaville Triptych Lampsacus Treasure

Paintings

French	Anonymous: Diana the Huntress; Gabrielle d'Estrées et une de ses sœurs Boilly: Artists in Isabey's Studio Boucher: The Brunette Odalisque; Diana Bathing; Vulcan Presenting Venus with Arms for Aeneas Chardin: The Attributes of Civilian and Military Music; The Attributes of Music, the Arts and the Sciences; Boy with a Spinning-Top; The Buffet; The Ray; Saying Grace Chassériau: Aline Chassériau; Self-portrait; The Toilette of Esther; The Two Sisters Claude: Village Fête Corot: The Bridge at Narni David: Andromache Mourning Hector; The Coronation of Napoleon; The Intervention of the Sabine Women; Leonidas at Thermopylae; The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons; The Loves of Paris and Helen; Minerva Fighting Mars; Oath of the Horatii; Portrait of Madame Marie-Louise Trudaine; Portrait of Madame Récamier; Portrait of Pope Pius VII; Self-portrait; Unfinished portrait of General Bonaparte Delacroix: The Barque of Dante; The Bride of Abydos; The Death of Sardanapalus; Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople; Liberty Leading the People; Lion Devouring a Rabbit; Mademoiselle Rose; The Massacre at Chios; The Murder of the Bishop of Liège; Orphan Girl at the Cemetery; Portrait of Frédéric Chopin; The Picador; Women of Algiers; A Young Tiger Playing with Its Mother Delaroche: Bonaparte Crossing the Alps; The Young Martyr Flandrin: Study Fragonard: Coresus Sacrificing Himself to Save Callirhoe; The Bolt Géricault: The 1821 Derby at Epsom; The Charging Chasseur; The Raft of the Medusa; The Woman with a Gambling Mania; The Wounded Cuirassier Greuze: L'Accordée de Village Gros: Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole; Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa; Napoléon on the Battlefield of Eylau Guérin: Jeune fille en buste Huet: The Flood of Saint-Cloud; Normandy Thatched Cottage, Old Trouville Ingres: The Apotheosis of Homer; Don Pedro of Toledo Kissing Henry IV's Sword; Grande Odalisque; Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII; Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière; Oedipus and the Sphinx; Portrait of Madame Marcotte de Sainte-Marie; Portrait of Monsieur Bertin; Roger Freeing Angelica; The Turkish Bath; The Valpinçon Bather La Tour: The Adoration of the Shepherds; The Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds; Joseph the Carpenter; Magdalene with the Smoking Flame; Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene Philippe de Champaigne: Ex-Voto de 1662 Poussin: Et in Arcadia ego; The Four Seasons; The Funeral of Phocion; The Inspiration of the Poet; Landscape with Orpheus and Eurydice Quarton: Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon Robert: Principal Monuments of France Scheffer: Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil Vernet: A Mediterranean Port Vouet: Allegory of Wealth; Hesselin Madonna Watteau: The Embarkation for Cythera; The Faux Pas; L'Indifférent; Jupiter and Antiope; Pierrot; The Two Cousins
Italian	Fra Angelico: Coronation of the Virgin Antonello da Messina: Christ at the Column Arcimboldo: The Four Seasons Bellini: Christ Blessing; Madonna and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Sebastian; Portrait of a Young Man Botticelli: Three Scenes from the Life of Esther; Venus and the Three Graces Presenting Gifts to a Young Woman; A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts Caravaggio: Death of the Virgin; The Fortune Teller; Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page Carpaccio: The Sermon of St. Stephen Carracci: Fishing; Hunting Cimabue: Maestà Correggio: Allegory of Vice; Allegory of Virtue; Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine; Venus and Cupid with a Satyr Costa: Allegory of Isabella d'Este's Coronation; Reign of Comus Ghirlandaio: An Old Man and his Grandson; Visitation Giordano: Adoration of the Shepherds; Marriage of the Virgin Giotto: Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata Guardi: The Doge on the Bucintoro near the Riva di Sant'Elena Leonardo: Bacchus; La belle ferronnière; Mona Lisa; Saint John the Baptist; The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne; Virgin of the Rocks Lippi: Barbadori Altarpiece; The Healing of Justinian the Canon; Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata Lotto: Christ Carrying the Cross; Holy Family with the Family of St John the Baptist; Saint Jerome in Penitence Mantegna: Crucifixion; Judgement of Solomon; Madonna della Vittoria; Parnassus; Saint Sebastian; Triumph of the Virtues Martini: The Carrying of the Cross Moretto: Saints Bonaventure and Anthony of Padua; Saints Bernardino of Siena and Louis of Toulouse Palmezzano: Dead Christ Panini: Ancient Rome Parmigianino: Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine Perugino: Apollo and Daphnis; The Battle Between Love and Chastity; Madonna and Child with St John the Baptist and St Catherine of Alexandria; Madonna and Child with St Rose and St Catherine (with Ingegno); St Sebastian; Young Saint with a Sword Piero della Francesca: Portrait of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta Pisanello: Portrait of a Princess Raphael: Angel Holding a Phylactery; La belle jardinière; The Holy Family of Francis I; Madonna with the Blue Diadem (with Penni); Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione; St. George; St. Michael; St. Michael Vanquishing Satan; Self-Portrait with a Friend; Small Holy Family Romano: Portrait of Doña Isabel de Requesens y Enríquez de Cardona-Anglesola (with Raphael) Salviati: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas Savoldo: Portrait of a Clad Warrior Signorelli: Adoration of the Magi; Birth of John the Baptist Tintoretto: Self Portrait Titian: The Crowning with Thorns; The Entombment of Christ; The Madonna of the Rabbit; Man with a Glove; Pardo Venus; Pastoral Concert (also attributed to Giorgione); Saint Jerome in Penitence; Woman with a Mirror Tura: Pietà with Saints Uccello: The Battle of San Romano Veronese: The Wedding at Cana
Northern	Bosch: Ship of Fools Bruegel: The Beggars Christus: Lamentation (Pietà) David: Cervara Altarpiece; Triptych of the Sedano family Dürer: Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle van Dyck: Charles I at the Hunt; Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary, St John and St Mary Magdalene; Madonna and Child with Two Donors van Eyck: Madonna of Chancellor Rolin Friedrich: The Tree of Crows Hals: Catharina Both-van der Eem; The Gypsy Girl; The Lute Player Holbein: Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam; Portrait of Nicolaus Kratzer de Hooch: Card Players in a Rich Interior Jordaens: The Four Evangelists Matsys: The Money Changer and His Wife Memling: Diptych of an elderly couple Metsu: The Vegetable Market in Amsterdam Rembrandt: The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family; Bathsheba at Her Bath; Landscape with a Castle; Pendant portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit; Philosopher in Meditation; St. Matthew and the Angel; Self-Portrait; Slaughtered Ox Rubens: Helena Fourment with a Carriage; Helena Fourment with Children; Hercules and Omphale; Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce; Marie de' Medici cycle; The Village Fête; The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents Ruisdael: Dune Landscape near Haarlem; The Ray of Light; Storm Off a Sea Coast Scheffer: Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil Vermeer: The Astronomer; The Lacemaker van der Weyden: Annunciation Triptych; Braque Triptych Wtewael: Perseus Freeing Andromeda
Spanish	El Greco: Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors; Portrait of Antonio de Covarrubias; Saint Louis Goya: Portrait of Ferdinand Guillemardet; Portrait of the Marquise de la Solana; Still Life of a Lamb's Head and Flanks Murillo: The Birth of the Virgin; The Young Beggar Ribera: The Clubfoot Zurbarán: Displaying the Body of Saint Bonaventure; Saint Apollonia
English	Bonington: Francis I, Charles V and the Duchess of Étampes Lewis: Street Scene near the El Ghouri Mosque in Cairo
American	Leutze: Christopher Columbus Before the Council of Salamanca

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