This statue is a three-dimensional example of the style known from reliefs of the early reign of Mentuhotep II, with a short upper body, high waist, long legs, and almond-shaped eyes with flaring cosmetic lines. Based on their similarity to a hieroglyph for “assemble,” the
crossed arms may have a funerary meaning, perhaps expressing the confidence that Meri’s body would be made whole again and thus ready for eternal life. The statue likely originates from a tomb in western Thebes.
