01:00Amid the hush of the Louvre's ancient galleries, sits one of ancient Egypt's most arresting figures, the seated scribe, cross-legged upon his mat, as though time itself had merely paused for him to finish a line.
01:14He was carved in the Old Kingdom, around 2600 to 2350 BC. The scribe is a dignitary of Inking intellect, who rests with his papyrus scroll unfurled across his lap, his once poised hand now missing the reed brush that would have danced across its surface.
01:30His white kilt, smooth and taut over his knees, forms a small stage for the art of writing, the sacred craft by which memory was made eternal. Yet, it is not his pose but his eyes, which bind the heart of every onlook.
01:44Inlaid with rock crystal, rimmed in copper, and gleaming with a light both earthly and divine, they give the uncanny illusion that he still observes us, quietly judging our comprehension of his words.
01:56Once, he recorded the grain and the cattle, the contracts and decrees of kings. Now he records only our wonder.
02:02Though centuries have passed since he last traced hieroglyphs in ink, his gaze remains unbroken, the watchful eyes of wisdom, forever alive thanks to the ancient artists of Egypt who immortalized him.
02:13He was discovered at Saqqara, the vast necropolis of ancient Memphis, resting north in the Serapium's line of sphinxes by French archaeologist, Auguste Mariette.
02:23This setting reveals the statue's true purpose. It was not meant to capture a man at work, but to preserve the very essence of intellect and service for eternity.
02:32In ancient Egypt, the written word was divine, to write was to give permanence to thought, and thus the scribe held a sacred place between mortal and god.
02:40Statues such as this were created to ensure that the skills and status of the deceased accompanied him into the afterlife, where he might continue.
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