Memi and Sabu vs Gudea Statues 2
We know that a long time ago in ancient times not as many people could read and write
like in today's times. In those early times they would use paintings or sculptures to tell a story or
express something that everyone could understand. We are going to compare and contrast two
ancient statues in this essay.
Our first statue is the Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu. Approximately dated around
2575-2465 BC, made during the 4th Egyptian Dynasty. This statue is made from limestone paint
that also has an inscription at the bottom. The inscription is letting us know that these two are a
non-royal pair with possible ties to royalty. How we can gather that this couple is non-royal is
based on a few things. One being that they aren't standing or seated in royal fashion. Two they
appear to be wearing clothes that resemble what a commoner would wear in ancient times. There
are some hints in the inscription that these two might have been royal acquaintances. Judging by the embrace the man is giving the woman we can also come to a conclusion that these two were
possible romantically involved in some way. Not a very large statue with dimensions of 62 x
24.5 x 15.2 cm.
The Statue of Gudea is up next for us. Also, a small statue in size not much different to
the Egyptian statue, it does have the dimensions of 44 x 21.5 x 29.5 cm. The reason we are
seeing a bit more depth to this statue is from the fact that Gudea is not standing but is in a seated
in a royal position. The Statue of Gudea was made from Diorite instead of limestone like our
Egyptian one. Gudea is a Neo-Sumerian statue, located around Mesopotamia, possibly in Girsu
(modern Tello). This statue pre-dates the Egyptian empire with a date around 2090 BC. Gudea
was a well-known king in local southern Mesopotamia. His hands in the statues are folded in a
common gesture of prayer or greeting.
Looking at both of these statues side by side, we can take into consideration the
similarities they both have. Starting off these statues are both old and from very ancient times.
Memi and Sabu vs Gudea Statues 3
Both are similar in size with their small dimensions. Both statues have a man with some form of
connection to royalty. They have one standing and then the other being seated. As well as
varying in color from the different uses of stone.
In closing, we learned a lot from two very different statues from different areas. Though
similar is some ways, both statues each tell a different story about the culture and time from
when they were each made.