An Egyptian Wood Figure of a Man, 6th Dynasty, probably reign of Pepy II/Netjerkare Siptah, circa 2246-2150 B.C.

striding and wearing a smooth kilt and round wig with striated and rectangular curls in front and echeloned curls in back covering the ears, the navel formerly inlaid, wood inlays remaining in the nipples, the slender torso with collarbones indicated, the missing arms formerly attached with two rectangular tenons on each side; the wood stand by Inagaki.

once on consignment to Joseph Brummer (1883-1947), New York, inv. no. X71
Brimo de Laroussilhe, Paris
Denys Sutton (1917-1991), London, acquired by from the above on March 28th, 1966
by descent to the present owner

As shown; slight traces of gesso and linen(?) remain on the kilt. Note surface wear, chips, and checks in the wood; the wig has rectangular area missing from the proper right side, as well as large areas of abrasion on the back (some of this may be pre-existing flaws in the wood) and sides.
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For related figures of the late Old Kingdom, some with wigs combining striated and echeloned curls, see J. Harvey, Wooden Statues of the Old Kingdom, a Typological Study (Egyptological Memoirs 2), Leiden, 2001; compare especially B75 and C17.

Tombs of the late Old Kingdom might contain several wood figures of the owner, showing him at different stages of his life. In this example it seems that middle age or even old age is represented. See for example D. Arnold, K. Grzymski, and C. Zeigler, Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids, New York, 1999, p. 462-463, cat. no. 189. Also see the three statues of Metjetji in The Brooklyn Museum: R.A. Fazzini, R.S. Bianchi, J.F. Romano, and D.B. Spanel, Ancient Egyptian Art in The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, 1989, no. 14.

Denys Miller Sutton (1917-1991) assumed the role of editor of the London-based arts magazine Apollo in 1962, and retained this position for about 25 years, during which he considerably expanded the scope of the publication, addressing sensitive art preservation issues, attracting new contributors among prominent art historians and writers, writing many articles himself, and devoting several issues to the collections of museums around the world. His strong and unrelenting interest in the visual arts was a lifelong pursuit: he served as secretary of the international commission for the restitution of cultural material after World War II, worked as an art critic for Country Life and the Financial Times, authored several books on painting, including works on Watteau, Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Picasso, and Whistler, and organized several exhibitions abroad such as shows on Constable and Titian in Tokyo. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (vol. 53, Oxford, 2003, p. 382) describes him as an "astute collector of art."