Comparing King Menkaura (Mycerinus) And His Queen

As I was touring the Museum of Fine Arts this past Monday, I was drawn to the statue or sculpture of King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and his queen. For a moment, I was able to relate with Ben Stiller and how he felt in the movie Night at the Museum. I genuinely felt the textbook come alive and I was able to relate with the artwork since it was covered in class. (Figure 1-29) Although having encountered other artworks that were covered in class, for some reason this artwork resonated with me the most. However, when I started looking around I found a similar artwork that caught my eye even more. A greywacke sculpture from Giza known as the Triad of King Mycerinus and two Goddesses that dates back to the period of the Mycerinus Dynasty, 2548-2530 B.C. I would not have found this sculpture as interesting if it had not been placed next to the sculpture of King Mycerinus and one of his wives. The contrast between the two statues brought out the beautiful differences between them, that raised a lot of questions, but at the same time informed me of what may have been the purpose of such a statue to be sculpted. Initially, what struck me is how this
The king and queen statue is a lot larger than the triad statue which might imply that the latter could have had more of a personal utilitarian purpose than the larger statue. Another difference that was fascinating is how the king was vested in the triad statue, that depicted him more like a pharaoh, while the statue of the king and the queen had him portrayed as more of a husband rather than a pharaoh. This could be an indication of how the two statues could have been used differently or at different times. One could have been sculpted to honor the king’s induction as pharaoh while another could have been sculpted to show the close association between him and his wife, the