Small wooden statues representing the deceased were often placed in tombs during the period of the late Old Kingdom and into the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2400–1800 BC). This elegant statuette of the official named Seneb was carved after the powerful pharaoh Mentuhotep II (ca. 2055–2004 BC) reunified Egypt following years of political instability and famine. Mentuhotep and the succeeding kings of the Twelfth Dynasty ruled over a stable land with a centralized administration for over two hundred years while Egypt continued to prosper and the arts flourished. Seneb’s idealized sculpture was made for funerary purposes, as one of the requirements for life after death, to serve eternally as a home for his spirit. Full of vigor, directness, and power, the figure has the imposing frontal presence of a much larger statue—with left leg advanced as if walking. Painted details were delineated with care.