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The Seated Scribe

The Seated Scribe was made around 2450-2325 BCE, its was discovered nearby a tomb made for an official named Kai and its sculpted from limestone. Its known that many pharaohs and high ranking officials would sometime have their servants depicted in some form of image or sculpture so that when they went to the afterlife they would able to utilize their skills to help them in their second life. In that era, being a scribe wasn't like normal servitude, It was a great honor to be chosen as a scribe. The scribes were some of the very few who knew how to read and write, they were highly regarded individuals whom many respected.Very few people at that time knew how to read and write. Most people were peasant farmers who had no need for literacy, and "although some members of the royal family and high status individuals, as well as officials, priests, and army officers were literate, scribes were needed for operations of the state at all levels." Scribes were used for multitude of things involving everyday Egyptian life, they would be used as tax collectors and and were in charge of organizing personnel for things like mining and trade and combat.Scribes were also used to work on projects like pyramid building and helped communicate between the rulers and the Egyptian people.

The specific scribe depicted in this sculpture has a very soft sagging look which must dignify that he is well off and has very few hardships and doesn't need to do any sort of physical labor. He sits in a cross-legged position while his posture and vitality makes it seem as if he is stuck in that position and has been there for a long period of time working. His facial expression is extremely attentive, gazing out to the viewer like he is watching their every move and is waiting for them to start speaking. He has a ready-made papyrus scroll laid out on his lap and the reed-brush used in inscriptions and hieroglyphs is missing from the sculpture. Both his hands are positioned on his lap and look as if they've already begun writing. His right hand is pointing towards the paper and make it seem as if he has already started to write while watching others speak. He looks extremely well concentrated but has a very calm demeanor. He stares calmly at the viewer with his black outlined eyes. HIs posture is that of someone who has a purpose.

The Seated Scribe show the religious and social aspects of Egyptian life at that time. The representation of the scribe in Ka's tomb is an example of people at that time believed stingily in the afterlife and showed a glimpse of the social class order. The sculpture shows helps us to better understand and put in perspective how life really was for the Egyptians and how their beliefs affected many important factors of their lives.

http://arthistory.wisc.edu/ah505/articles/Bard,_Introduction_to_the_Archaeology_of_Ancient_Egypt.pdf

2.5 Literacy in Ancient Egypt

Most people in ancient Egypt did not know how to read and write. Since the majority of Egyptians were peasant farmers, they would not have needed to learn to read, and the complexities of the written language would have made it more difficult to learn than most alphabetic writing systems. Although some members of the royal family and high status individuals, as well as officials, priests, and army officers were literate, scribes were needed for operations of the state at all levels.

Egyptian scribes were professionals trained in special schools in royal administrative departments and temples. Some scribes probably learned through apprenticeship, such as is known from the New Kingdom workmen’s village of Deir el-Medina. Model letters recorded by school boys, on limestone ostraca and plaster-covered wooden boards, have been found which give us information about what was taught in these schools or to apprentices in jobs. A well-known Middle Egyptian text attributed to the scribe Khety extols the virtues of being a scribe, who will always have employment. He boasts that scribes do not have to wear rough garments like common laborers, and they can take baths. Scribes give orders and others have to obey them.

Scribes were needed for the bureaucratic functions of all branches of the government and administration, including issuing the rations for government personnel and workers who depended on state resources for their livelihood. Tax collection and operations of the treasury needed to be recorded, as did organizing and supplying the personnel for expeditions outside of Egypt – for mining and quarrying, trade, and warfare. Scribes were also used for large-scale state work projects such as pyramid building.

Probably the most visible evidence of writing in ancient Egypt are the hieroglyphic texts found on the walls of temples and tombs, both royal and private. These were the work of artisans who worked with scribes and/or literate artisans. Religious and mortuary texts were written and read by scribally trained priests, and scribes were needed for the construction and operation of temples. Legal proceedings, both local and national, were recorded by scribes. Wealthy private individuals needed scribes to administer their estates and to record documents such as wills and business transactions. 

http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/seated-scribe

http://culturoid.com/2013/12/highlighted-artwork-the-seated-scribe/

old kingdom scribe---Ambrose Lansing, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Feb., 1926), pp. 38-43

Patel, Bhupendra C. K.; Singh, Arun; Dua, Harminder. British Journal of Ophthalmology.  Jun2008, Vol. 92 Issue 6, p739-739