Middle Kingdom, 12th-13th Dynasty, 1991-1649 BC. A carved granite fragment depicting a seated male, possibly an official, wearing a kilt and a tight-fitting coat or cloak covering the left shoulder; the right arm resting on his lap and the left hand originally raised to the chest to hold a garment, traces of possible erased inscription on the kilt; with old inked collector's number '59' to the reverse. Cf. The British Museum, accession number EA171, for a similar statue of Ankhwa; see The Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 1964.90, for similar; B.M.C., The Dress of the Ancient Egyptians: I. In the Old and Middle Kingdoms, 1916; Bothmer B.V., Private Sculpture of Dynasty XVIII in Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Museum Annual, vol. 8, 1966; Legrain, G., Statues et statuettes de rois et de particuliers. Tome Premier, Cairo, 1906; Sist, L., Museo Barracco. Arte egizia, Rome, 1996; Vandier, J., Manuel d'Archéologie égyptienne. Tome III. Les Grandes Epoques. La Statuaire, Paris, 1958; Pedrini, L., Observations on the Cloak Worn by Private Men during the Old, Middle and New Kingdom, GM 87, 1985. 1.5 kg, 13.5cm (5 1/4"). From the private collection of a New York collector; part of his family collection since at least the early 1970s; thence by descent from his grandfather in 1975; accompanied by an academic report by Dr Alberto Maria Pollastrini. This type of clothing is a quite common feature in the Middle Kingdom private sculpture (B.M.C. 1916, 170, fig. 8-9; Sist 1996, 38-42; Vandier 1958, 231, pl. LXXVII, 3), even though some examples of statues sporting a long tight-fitting cloak are attested in the Early New Kingdom (i.e. the seated statue of Ahmose called Ruru, Brooklyn Museum acc. no.61.196, see Bothmer 1966, 55-57, fig. 1-4"). The lack of any trace of backrest and back pillar could suggest that the man, whose name is unknown, is probably siting with his legs crossed on a rectangular base. This particular position is echoed in several similar Middle Kingdom small statues that were inserted into offering slabs. The way the man wears his cloak and the position of his hands have a direct parallel with the sandstone statue of an unknown dignitary (Cairo CG 42041, JE 34619) dating to the 12th Dynasty (Legrain, 1906, 24-25, pl. XXV"). [No Reserve]