Egyptian statue - Pharaoh Khafre - King of Egypt - Builder of the sphinx.

Khafre - 4th Dynasty Pharaoh of the pyramid age.

Dimensions - Height - 24 cm / 9 inches
Width - 8.2 cm / 3-1/4 inches
Depth - 12 .5 cm / 5 inches


This is a good example of the seated variety of Egyptian statuary. Made of a limestone and quartzite composition stone, this replica statue has a slate grey / black, and mineral blue patina with a light polish.
It can be displayed as a work of art, or put to work guarding your most treasured Egyptology books as a sturdy bookend.

Background information

Khafre - This is one of the most famous of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs and he was the builder of the second largest pyramid on the Giza plateau, only slightly smaller than his father Khufu's most celebrated Great Pyramid.

Khafre's pyramid is the one with a portion of original Tura limestone casing stone near the apex. Nothing annoys me more in Egyptology than documentaries and books for that matter when they mention the great pyramid and use the image of the pyramid of Khafre. It often appears higher because it is on a slightly elevated level of the Giza plateau but is smaller by mass and is a little more steep as well.

Depending on what you believe and how deeply you venture into Egyptology, Khafre, in my opinion is the most likely candidate responsible for the construction of the Great Sphinx. His brother Ra-Djed-ef also known as Djed-ef-re has also been a candidate as well as Khufu himself. Perhaps it was started with Khufu's instruction and only finished by Khafre. Modern speculation and theories are essential to progress the understanding of an ancient truth.

Then you have the perspective of a portion of independent Egyptian thinkers who propose it is 10 thousand years old due to the erosion around the enclosure seemingly far too advanced to be a mere 4 1/2 thousand years old. They say it was built during a much wetter climate and suffered from excess water erosion. Some have said it is even older at an outrageous 36 thousand years old.
The most likely scenario that most geologist agree upon is the sphinx has suffered from a severe case of wind erosion carrying the abrasive sand with it that acts like sand paper on soft limestone.


One thing is for certain, Khafre built the second largest pyramid in Egypt and it is my favourite to look at. It has that wonderful area at the apex showing a sizable portion of the Tura limestone casing stone still intact. Only the Bent pyramid of Dashur has more of it's original casing intact.

A causeway led from Khafre's pyramid down to the Nile and next to the Sphinx he built his mortuary temple. It is a stark, now mostly roofless stone temple that was once decorated with a profusion of statues of Khafre. The statue on offer is an example, on a much reduced scale, of one such statue. They were found in various states of preservation buried in a nearby pit. This one is not meant to be the famous one with the falcon god Horus perched behind his head but one of the many significant others that get overshadowed by that masterpiece. I will attempt that awesome statue in the coming years.

The details of this statue show the king wearing a shendyt kilt. He also wears the striped Nemes head cloth with uraeus cobra on the forehead and he is seated on a lion headed throne. The side panels display the vegetation of upper and lower Egypt entwined in unification. His feet rest upon the nine bows (enemies of Egypt) which is not a feature found on the famous statue.