Statue of Chai-hapi

This statue depicts a crouching male figure on a pillow. He is the high-ranking courtier and priest Chai-hapi, shown wearing a shoulder-length wig with small curls, a long kilt and sandals. His crossed arms are resting on his knees, and in his right hand he is clutching a Djed - a symbol of permanence. Note the sistrum with Hathor head in front of his pulled-up knees. This instrument was used during religious celebrations to honour the goddess Hathor. Along the sides of the figure and on the back pillar are incised inscriptions that include offering formulae and the names and titles of the sitter. The figure’s shoulders and upper arms feature additional inscriptions. Chai-hapi was, among other things, “privy councillor of Heliopolis” and “manager and temple scribe of the house of Ra”. “House of Ra” refers to the sanctuary at Heliopolis, home of an ancient temple dedicated to the sun god. This is probably where the figure of Chai-hapi originates. It was, however, excavated in Austria: around 1800, it was discovered in the course of soil work in connection with the Wiener Neustädter Canal in what is now Vienna’s Third District. In the 1st century A.D. this was the site of the civilian town of the Roman military camp Vindobona. The Romans conflated their religious beliefs with those of Ancient Egypt, helping to propagate Ancient Egyptian gods throughout the Empire. Roman-Egyptian sanctuaries were embellished with Ancient Egyptian statues. The statue of Chai-hapi was probably also re-used to decorate such a sanctuary, and this is how it ended up in Vindobona, i.e. Vienna.Text: © Regina Hölzl, Meisterwerke der Ägyptisch-Orientalischen Sammlung, Wien 2007