Ka statue

After death, the ethereal aspects of the soul were believed to be released from the body, free to roam the earth, but required the physical body or a surrogate, such as the ka statue, to return to as a permanent home. Ka statues could also be set up as a type of memorial for the deceased in absentia; for example in Abydos hundreds were set up to allow the dead to participate in the yearly festivals commemorating the resurrection of Osiris. Because the ancient Egyptians believed statues could magically perceive the world, they were ceremonially brought to life by priests in a special ritual called the opening of the mouth ceremony. In the full version of this ceremony, the mouth, eyes, nose, and ears could be touched with ritual implements to give the statue the power of breath, sight, smell, and hearing. ==Design and construction==

Ka statues were usually carved from wood or stone and sometimes painted in the likeness of the owner to reinforce the spiritual connection and preserve the person's memory for eternity. Many ka statues were placed in a purpose-built mortuary chapel, or niche, which could be covered with appropriate inscriptions. Like most ancient Egyptian statuary, ka statues display a rigid frontalism in which the body faces squarely forward in a formal way. Whether seated or standing, their posture reflects the need for the statue to "see" the real world in front of them and conform to an ideal standard of beauty and perfection. By the start of the New Kingdom, pharaohs began constructing tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and so they built their mortuary temples separately. As a result, ka statues were relegated to the tombs while mortuary statues (also called cult statues) took their places in the temple. The hieroglyph representing the ka is a pair of upraised arms. It is sometimes depicted on top of the head of the statue to reinforce its intended purpose. ==Gallery==

The following images shows the surviving intact Ka statues of pharaohs. File:Djoser statue.jpg|Djoser File:Khafre statue.jpg|Khafre File:Mentuhotep Seated edit.jpg|Mentuhotep II File:Cairo, Egyptian Museum, Antiquities, photo 4 of 97 - Archivio fotografico Museo Egizio, Turin Album3 010 (cropped).jpg|Senusret I File:Cairo, Egyptian Museum, Antiquities, photo 12 of 97 - Archivio fotografico Museo Egizio, Turin Album3 012 (cropped).jpg|Amenemhat III File:Ka Statue of horawibra.jpg|Hor Awibre File:By ovedc - Egyptian Museum (Cairo) - 285.jpg|Tutankhamun (with nemes) File:By ovedc - Egyptian Museum (Cairo) - 284.jpg|Tutankhamun (with khat) The following images shows the fragments and reconstructed Ka statues of pharaohs. File:Louvre 032007 20.jpg|Djedefre File:Neferefre.jpg|Neferefre File:HoremhebKa.jpg|Horemheb Mortuary statues The following images shows the surviving and reconstructed mortuary/cult statues of pharaohs. While not strictly ka statues, the mortuary/cult statues take the place of them in mortuary temples and receive the same offerings and ceremonies as ka statues. File:Cult statue of Amenhotep I, limestone - Museo Egizio Turin C 1372 p02.jpg|Amenhotep I File:Statue reinscribed with the name of Tuthmosis I, granodiorite - Museo Egizio Turin C 1374 p01 (cropped).jpg|Thutmose I (usurped and recarved from Senusret I) File:Hatshepsut wearing the khat headdress c.jpg|Hatshepsut File:Statue of Tuthmose III from Deir el-Bahari - granodiorite - Luxor Museum (cropped).jpg|Thutmose III File:Attila Losonc IMG 2452 (53676364386).jpg|Amenhotep III File:Egyptian Museum Cairo 2022 24 (cropped).jpg|Ramesses II File:Statues of Amenhotep III and Temple of Dendur, Egyptian collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art (left).jpg|Merneptah (usurped and recarved from Amenhotep III) ==See also==