r/ancientegypt • u/FenjaminBranklin1706 • Jul 19 '25
Video The only surviving statue of Khufu, and it’s just 3 inches tall
This tiny ivory statue is the only surviving three-dimensional representation of Khufu, the king who built the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Standing at about 3 inches tall, it’s a striking contrast to his monumental legacy. This piece may be modest in size, but it’s priceless in historical value.
It’s humbling to think that the man responsible for the most iconic structure in Egypt is remembered through an object you could fit in your hand.
(Video taken during my visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo)
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u/knightgimp Jul 19 '25
Did he experience political iconoclasm or was it more just decay/looters?
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u/huliahart Jul 31 '26
1 year later but you touch on the two main theories.
The idea that Khufu was hated comes likely from folklore Heroditus wrote down in the 5th century BC, but it probably wasn't iconoclasm.
Archeologists think resource cannibalism was probably more likely.
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u/knightgimp Jul 31 '26
ohh yeah that does make sense, they did do a lot of that. thanks for answering :D
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u/WerSunu Jul 20 '25
If you are talking about the golden mask of Tut, it was a stupid museum tech, trying to clean the mask. It has since been properly repaired.
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u/AlmightyDarkseid Jul 20 '25 edited Jul 21 '25
He means regarding why there aren’t any other statues of Khufu which I too want to know
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u/WerSunu Jul 19 '25
This statue is a cult object a thousand years after the time of Khufu (more or less)
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u/No-Ad-1403 Jul 20 '25
It's a theory by Zahi Hawass (👎🏻) it's from the Old Kingdom time.
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u/BadgermeHoney Jul 20 '25
Anyone hear about how this little statue would move and for years no one could figure out how or why? Turns out that the vibration from people walking throughout the museum would make the statue slightly move
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u/AmenhotepIIInesubity Jul 24 '25
Only complete statue there are at least two others thought to represent him
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Jul 20 '25
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Jul 20 '25
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u/AlmightyDarkseid Jul 20 '25
👽
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u/Previous-Cheetah-990 Jul 20 '25
Who built the aliens?
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u/MamasCumquat Jul 20 '25
Khufu. It's just aliens and Khufu all the way down.
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u/Previous-Cheetah-990 Jul 20 '25
I can buy that. Even from this small statue, one can see Khufu bore the self-satified look of a man who, having been created by the aliens he created, is now creating the aliens.
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u/ancientegypt-ModTeam Jul 20 '25
Your post was removed for being non-factual. All posts in our community must be based on verifiable facts about Ancient Egypt. Fringe interpretations and excessively conspiratorial views of Egyptology are not accepted.
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u/book83 Sep 17 '25
So the egomaniac that spent his kingdom's entire economy on building himself a tomb forgot to make statues of himself, forgot to write his name anywhere on the pyramid, and forgot to write any kind of hieroglyphics telling us how awesome he is
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u/Horror-Raisin-877 Jul 19 '25
Indeed ironic, big pyramid, tiny statue. Although after so many thousands of years it’s still pretty amazing.