The shape of the back pillar matches those of Wen-nufer, in a private collection, and Psamtik-sa-Neith of the Cairo Museum, both described by Bernard Bothmer in his Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period. Dr. Bothmer dated Wen-nufer to a period between the latter part of the Persian domination to the Thirtieth Dynasty. Unfortunately, the ROM piece is broken at the neck, so that we cannot use the figure’s style of clothing or musculature (or lack thereof) to date the image.
For much of Egyptian history, the ideal image was one of youthful vigor, but in the Late Period, the image of the wise, serious, mature man of learning became common. Most such images have a benign smile, unlike this serious, rather stern countenance. When viewed from the side, the face takes on an air of disdain verging on arrogance – quite an unusual expression for an Egyptian statue at any period.
