Exhibition 02 · Rulers, protectors, ancestors

Power & Presence

Across time and place, sculpture has represented authority through scale, posture, material, costume, and religious or political symbols.

10 worksAllow 15–30 minutes3D views and records

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About this exhibition

These works show different ways sculpture has represented authority. Compare the materials, scale, facial treatment, gesture, and supporting forms that make rank, protection, or political power visible.

Head Of Gudea

Ancient Near East and Egypt · ca. 2090 BCE · Diorite

Diorite is difficult to carve and highly durable. This ruler of Lagash was made in a stone whose hard surface has preserved the brow and facial features for roughly four thousand years.

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Portrait of Nefertiti

Attributed to the workshop of Thutmose · c. 1345 BCE · Limestone, painted stucco, quartz, wax

This cast reproduces the limestone bust found in the sculptor Thutmose’s workshop at Amarna. Only one eye is inlaid, using quartz and wax; the missing inlay changes the face when viewed from the left.

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Goddess Sekhmet

Unknown Egyptian artist(s) · 1320–656 BCE · Glazed faience

This small glazed-faience figure combines a lioness’s head with a woman’s body. Its scale differs from the monumental Sekhmet statues familiar from Egyptian temples, showing how the deity was also represented in smaller formats.

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Augustus Of Prima Porta

c. 20 BCE · Marble

Augustus is shown with a raised arm, bare feet, and a narrative breastplate. The small Cupid on a dolphin below his leg refers to divine lineage and also helps support the marble figure.

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Bust of Trajan

Mediterranean · 2nd century CE · Carrara marble

This Carrara-marble portrait presents Trajan with a plain fringe combed across the forehead rather than elaborate royal regalia. The restrained treatment is part of the visual language of a soldier-emperor.

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Moses

Michelangelo · 1513-1515 · Plaster

This plaster is after Michelangelo’s Moses for the tomb of Julius II. The horns, tablets, and turned torso identify the figure; the right hand draws the beard aside as the seated body shifts.

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Nkisi Power Figure

Kongo artist and nganga (ritual specialist) · 19th–first half of 20th century · Wood, pigment, resin, iron, brass, tin, cloth, plant fiber cord, beads, cowrie shells, bone or ivory, arrows, leather, seeds, animal horn

Iron, brass, tin, arrows, and cowries have been added to this figure. In Kongo contexts, an nganga could activate nkisi figures in matters such as oaths and disputes; the accumulation of materials is visible around the entire form.

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Ancestor Figure Teke

Teke artist · 19th century · Wood (ngasu or mulong), cloth, organic matter, pigment

The carved head is fully visible, while the torso is enclosed in cloth and organic material. The construction suggests that the contained materials were integral to the work, not simply a covering.

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White Ogre Tihu Katsina Figure

Americas and Oceania · ca. 1900 · Cottonwood, pigment, cotton cloth, tanned leather, and metal

This figure combines carved cottonwood with pigment, cotton cloth, tanned leather, and metal. The separate additions are important to its construction and can be identified from different sides.

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Standing Buddha Radiate Combined Halo

Asian · ca. late 6th century · Brass

This late sixth-century brass figure has a single halo that encloses both head and body. The radiating form explains the "combined halo" in its title; changes in light make the raised rays easier to see.

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