Jean Louis Hellouin the Curator of the Egyptian department of the Louvre in Paris ordered the Statue of “Meniou” to be defaced in 1992, as he believed it had been repaired in modern times by the original private owner of the statue, therefore by removing the “restoration” it would allow in his own words “This option, seems quite respectable, preserving the "integrity" of Meniou because we prefer its history, its real truth and authenticity.” But who was Meniou, and why was he immortalised in such a magnificent statue?
I believe that the original statue was not damaged in antiquity…but after a report came out in 1989 in the French news paper stating that the statue has no provenance, the curator decided to make it look more “authentic” but brutally damaging it to make it appear as if it was found broken, and then restored to perfection (which it was not since it had many cracks on the original image) and then restored to how it was found…well we don’t know how, when or where it was found! I feel the statue was damaged, yes, the arms, and lower body were gone, but the face was still intact, making this statue one of the most beautiful statues ever crafted in ancient egypt for a NON PHARAOH.
During the New Kingdom under the Reign of 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep III, there was a great influx of Royal scribes needed. Amenhotep ruled Egypt in one of the most civilised ways, but rather politically writing to countries rather than seeking wars. Even his wife Queen Tiye held a high rank in personally corresponding with other nations. This lead to a much greater need in scribes rather than soldiers. Meniou was one of these scribes appointed to take down dictations from the monarchs - According to the Louvre - as much evidence about Meniou is still a mystery. Egyptologists often link him to Meryra, as scribe and correspondent with Mitani under the reign of Amenhotep IV (AKHENATEN).
The name Meniou in my opinion is also a mistranslation of the Hieroglyphs. The right side of the statue has the name Fhe-men-tu which appears right about the glyph for man at the very bottom. Yet on the back in the third column on the right, above the seated glyph for man, which indicated the above to be his name rather than title is “Innu-ra-seh” and right above that Starting with the other name “Fhe-men-tu” but its slightly altered glyphs at the end of the article giving a different meaning but same sound.
The back of his statue includes funirary text that translate as: Your body will be strong and you will live, scribe royal truth, Fhementu the beloved of the King ... He who walks on land and meets no opposition… (broken text) at the presentation of the Great Offering, you shall offer lettuce and (broken text) ... you will be paid against your enemies ... heaven will welcome you, he will accept your body, royal scribe of truth.
So who was this Royal scribe? Almost nothing remains in the way of his history, other than linking him to Amenhotep III based off of the style, since it resembles that of the Tomb of Ramose the Vizier at the time. But another linking statue has gone totally amiss by most, and could change his identity, or link him to a family… His hair and features do match the late 18th Dynasty, however the stitching and edges of his linen garment are more fitting with the early 19th Dynasty. This gives as a good idea of when he lived…most importantly he is late 18th Dynasty!
Where did the bust “Meniou” come from, who discovered it and where???
Because it was acquired by a personal collector in the early 1900’s we may never know, and most information is speculative.
What is certain is that he arrived at the Louvre in 1914, which records explain his acquisition "By Benoit Peytel Joanny, a banker who was also Chairman of the Algerian Credit Board of Directors and Director of Credit Foncier” His large fortune enabled him to indulge his passion for collecting ancient antiquities, paintings, sculptures and other art objects of the Middle East, Greece, Etruscan and Roman. Benoit was also "Vice President of the Central Union of Decorative Arts" Who gradually donated parts of his collections to several museums.
One of his nieces, named Mary Magdalene, married Charles Boreux who was head of the department of Egyptian antiquities at the Louvre from 1926 to 1940.
Nakhtmin was a scribe and an official during the Reign of Tutankhamun, he was then named and crowned prince during the rule of Pharaoh Ay. It is possible that Nakhtmin was the son of Ay from his second wife, but this is not proven. All information we have of him are from a Stele and the back of a Statue of Nakhtmins wife, who was a singer in at Karnak temple, where Nakhtmin also served some time at the shrine of the god Min. Prince Nakhtmin’s tomb has never been found, we know of 2 other Nakhtmin’s one was the Troop leader of Ramses II, and the other an overseer of Deir El Medina - both from the 19th Dynasty who’s tombs we do know of and have no relation to Prince Nakhtmin. There is a good reason why I am mentioning Prince Nakhtmin. When comparing the bust of Nakhtmin to Meniou they are almost identical! Made From limestone, both statues have the same colouring of only white and black. The hair is the same, same chocker necklace, goaty beard, and more importantly the eyes and mouth are strikingly similar. And if we take into account that both busts are of uncertain provenance, and share the same pattern of defacement… it is my belief that Meniou is in fact Nakhtmin from the time of Ay!
Another clue is that a distinct line on the back of Meniou’s bust states he offers Lettuce! Lettuce was only associated with the God Min! Nakhtmin, was named after the God, and also served at the “Place of Truth” and “Shrine of MIN” the correlation between the two are becoming stronger. The statues even share the same dimensions…more than coincidence, as many Egyptians had several statues of identical size made of themselves as sort of an insurance policy. Maybe one is damaged, the other might still survive. BACKUP!
(BUST OF PRINCE NAKHTMIN IN CAIRO
PHOTO BY C.R. WOODSIDE)
I also believe that the names featured on Miniou’s bust are more titles, and that the real name is now lost since it would have appeared in the lower half of the statue that is now gone.
Thankfully we can still enjoy the original statue from a picture taken from the original owner’s home in the early 1920’s.
ALL IMAGES OF "MENIOU" SOURCED FROM LOUVRE PUBLIC RECORDS
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