The Seated Scribe


Seated cross-legged, with rolls of belly fat, this painted statue differs from the ideal statues of pharaohs.

Seated Scribe​, c. 2500 B.C.E., c. 4th Dynasty, Old Kingdom, painted limestone with rock crystal, magnesite, and copper/arsenic inlay for the eyes and wood for the nipples, found in Saqqara


Additional resource

This sculpture at the Louvre


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Cite this page as: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "The Seated Scribe," in Smarthistory, November 25, 2015, accessed December 6, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/seated-scribe/.