Statue of the Architect Kha
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This is a small statue of Kha, architect to the 18-Dynasty Pharoah
Amenhotep III Nebmaatre (ca. 1390-1352 B.C.E.). It is made of wood, and looks now substantially
like it did in antiquity: the only coloring are traces of paint inside the glyphs down the center,
but it originally wore a garland of flowers around its shoulders. This statue shows Kha to be an honored servant, rather than a nobleman. He is standing with his left foot forward, a typical pose for officials, but is not carrying any of the tokens of office usually carried by officials; instead, he has his hands empty and palms facing back in a gesture of supplication. His wig is very fine, but his clothes are a simple kilt without the elaborate pleated overshirt favored by the nobility at this time. The statue, maybe commissioned by the Pharaoh as a sign of respect for Kha, contains a pious wish for Kha's prosperity in the afterlife, in the strip of hieroglyphs down the center of the kilt. The text wishes for him prrt nbt Hr wdHw ny imn nsw nTrw n kA ny Hry st aA xa maA-xrw Everything which comes forth upon the offering table of Amun, King of the Gods, for the ka of Great Overseer of Places, Kha, true-of-voice (i.e. justified before Osiris). Egyptian names were meaningful words (eg. Amenhotep = Amun is satisfied). Kha's name comes from the word 
xai to rise (said of
the Sun), to appear in glory (said of a king or god). In writing,
at least, it becomes a name simply by replacing the scroll
determinative with a "person" determinative. In Kha's case,  , the
person is holding a flail, denoting authority.
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© 2002, Terrence Donnelly