Dreyfus: I’m Renee Dreyfus – I’m curator in charge of ancient art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Shuck: My name is Kim Shuck - I'm a lifelong artist and poet.

Dreyfus: This nearly life-sized stone torso is a sculpture from the reign of the great Pharaoh, Amenhotep III. And he's from Dynasty 18, which is a high point, a zenith of Egyptian art and civilization. And it's a sculpture of a god.

Narrator: The god was probably carved for Amenhotep III's royal jubilee. Three jubilees were held during the last decade of his reign. These were intended to rejuvenate the failing powers of the aging ruler and emphasize his relationship with the gods. 

The god holds a loop-shaped ankh, symbol of life, and a scepter, representing power. And the dark color of the stone he’s carved from recalls the rich, fertile soil around the Nile, suggesting new life.

Shuck: And that gorgeous stone, it just speaks to reverence and patience, that are present in the making as well as the looking. Just looking at that object, broken as it is - the residual magnificence and dignity of that piece, I think, speaks to something about awe and the way that a human body feels and experiences that kind of awe and reverence.