Reserve head from Memphis. Only about 30 of these have been found and they all date from the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC). They were put in burial chambers close to the dead. It may be that they were meant as a substitute head for the deceased, or made so that the dead could recognise its own body. Many such heads are damaged, perhaps to stop the dead harming the living. Dynasty IV 2613-2494 BC. See N.B. Millet The Reserve Heads of the Old Kingdom Stone head of man c. 23cm high. Reserve head. During the Fourth Dynasty sculptures such as this were placed near the tomb owner's body, probably in the burial chamber. Their purpose is uncertain. It is possible that they were intended as an enduring substitute for the actual head of the deceased, or that they provided the means by which he could identify his own body. Many of them have damaged or unfinished ears and incisions cut into their surface. These features have been variously interpreted, sometimes as ritual destruction, suggesting that the heads symbolised a decapitation and as a means of protecting the living from any evil intentions on the part of the dead. Lacovara (1997) suggests that they served as sculptor's guidelines. Purchased by Wellcome at auction in 1928. See Lacovara, P. 1997 'The Riddle Of The Reserve Heads' In KMT 8 number 4 (winter 1997-98) p28-36. Also 'Egyptian Art In The Age Of The Pyramids' Metropolitan Museum of Art 233-241.
