Half a necklace

Around the man’s neck we see a shebiu necklace, consisting of two rows of lens-shaped beads. Necklaces such as these were worn in the Egyptian New Kingdom (ca. 1539-1077 BC) by kings and high-ranking officers as a symbol for their high social status. Real specimens that have been recovered had beads made of gold and faience (Fig. 1). They were made in royal workshops and gifted to high-ranking officers out of appreciation for their services (Fig. 2).

The beads in the necklace on the relief are too small, and their shapes are too irregular. The modern sculptor messed up by making the bottom row of beads smaller than the top row. The necklace is only visible at the left side of the body, and disappears on the right.

In some authentic ancient Egyptian reliefs the wig covers a part of the necklace, but even then, the necklace is visible on both ends of the wig (Fig. 3). In this modern relief, the wig is not long enough to cover the necklace, and yet, the necklace stops. The forger also rushed the last beads on the bottom row, so that the beads touching the wig are way too small.

That the wig itself also contains irregularities will become clear in the next step.