Memi And Sabu Comparison Essay

After viewing the statue of Memi and Sabu and the seated statue of Gudea, some similarities can definitely be found but digging deeper, other meanings are there as well. It was common in the fourth Dynasty for sculptures and statues to be made to honor the dead or to ensure that they are well known and remembered for future generations. Many different areas of the world practiced this and hence there are quite a few styles and materials used, as well as the overall meaning and purpose of its creation.

The statue of Memi and Sabu was basically created as a placeholder for the souls of a presumed married couple to allow them to eat and collect the physical gifts and offerings left behind for them, and was most likely left in a hidden compartment in the tomb of the deceased. It is crafted of limestone and is detailed with an included inscription near the base indicating the identities of whom is portrayed in the statue. It should be noted that the masculine figure is not posing in the typical
Gudea was a ruler of Mesopotamia and focused his efforts on rebuilding the temples of Lagash; he was also rather vain in insisting that statues in his likeness were created and placed throughout the remodeled temples. This particular statue is crafted from Diorite and shows him in a seated position with some Sumerian text inscribed in his robing detailing the actual temples he renovated and his identity. It differs from the statue of Memi and Sabu not only in its choice of construction material but also in the fact that Gudea most likely had this and many others made to congratulate himself and preserve his honor throughout time. There's good chance that Memi and Sabu did not ask for their statue to be created but it was made anyway according to primitive religious and burial