Menkaure's torso and arms

Here I have started to work on Menkaure's torso and arms - obviously not yet finished.

While I have been working on this, I have really started to wonder about the skills of the ancient artists. This statue was made about 2500 BC - during the 4th Dynasty, Old Kingdom. Just think of the tools these artists had: how many could do similar work in todays world using the same tools?

I can only hope this work does justice to the skills of the ancient Egyptians.

Closeup of the stone slab

Here is a closeup on the stone slab and the crown. I may work on the crown some more - have to let it rest to "see" it again. It sure is a challenge to try to create realistic-looking stone by scratching with a  scalpel. I had no idea how to do that, so I just had to make the first scratch and then continue until I felt I "got it". Would be nice to hear does the slab look like stone in your opinion? There were slight light variations in the actual slab, along with some nicks and dents, so I tried to make them show too.

Menkaure's crown and the stone slab

I worked on Menkaure's crown and the stone slab between him and the goddess Hathor. The stone slab is of dark colour, but I chose to bring out the light more so that I could make the shadows more dramatic - you can call it artistic lisence Also I tried to bring out the slight light variations on the stone slab.