Pair Statue of Sementaouy and Rouiay

Sementaouy and his wife Rouiay sit side by side on two seats, and the whole group is only about 26 centimetres tall. It is carved from the wood of the persea, a tree the Egyptians grew in temple gardens and whose leaves went into the garlands laid on mummies. For a long time the wood was taken for shea, and an analysis in 2016 identified it correctly. The eyes and eyebrows were once inlaid, and traces of red and black paint remain.

The inscriptions give their titles. Sementaouy was a servant of the Lord of the Two Lands, that is, of the king. Rouiay was mistress of the house and a chantress of Amun, one of the women who sang in the god's rituals. His head is shaved and he wears a pleated kilt, and she wears a fringed, pleated robe and a long wig that falls around her face. The Louvre places the statue at the end of the 18th Dynasty on the evidence of its style, and it bought the piece in 1825 with the collection of Edme-Antoine Durand.

Two smaller figures belong to the household. A monkey is carved in relief under Rouiay's seat, and on the back slab a standing woman raises her right arm. The text calls her Oursou, their servant.