Around the turn of the 20th century the Reverend William MacGregor purchased on the Egyptian antiquities market a basalt statue which would become known as the “MacGregor Man.” It has at various times been declared a forgery but as more ancient statuary has come to light, it is clear that no forger working in the early 1900’s, could have gotten so many details correct.¹Harrington 2006, 559 The statue was probably carved in the likeness of an early Egyptian ruler and placed in his tomb. This custom would persist for the remainder of ancient Egyptian history.²Harrington 2006, 268

The man has a close fitting cap that blends imperceptibly with his long pointed beard. His only clothing is a flat belt attached to a phallic sheath. This manner of dress (or lack thereof) may be compared to the nearly naked men depicted on the Gebel El-Arak knife or the Pinocchio figurines of the Ghassulian culture, who also wear phallic sheaths and are carved in the same style, with arms held rigidly by their sides. If the holes drilled along the lower perimeter of the face of the Ghassulian ivory figurine was used to attach a beard, as seems likely, then it also shares this feature in common with the MacGregor Man.

Another point of comparison comes from predynastic ivory tusk figurines found in Egypt which likewise display pointed beards and skull caps. Since the figurines are generally dated to the Naqada I and II periods (3900 – 3500 BC in the Conventional Chronology), this provides a natural starting point for dating the MacGregor Man. However, there is other dating criteria which points to a much later date for the statue. Firstly, the MacGregor Man bears a close resemblance to the Coptos Colossi, found at Coptos near Naqada. These statues, three in total, originally stood approximately 13 feet tall and weighed 2 tons each. Their sides were etched with symbols of Red Sea shells, lightning bolt standards, an elephant standing on mountains, a bull standing on mountains, etc. More recent investigations have also revealed the symbol of a catfish and a chisel etched into one of the colossi, thus spelling the name Narmer. This means the colossi were likely still standing during First Dynasty.³Williams 1988, 36-37 Judging by the similarities between the Coptos Colossi and the MacGregor Man, they belong to the same cultural horizon.

There are other stylistic considerations as well, that point to a late date for the MacGregor Man. The modelling of his eyes, nose, and mouth closely match the facial features of the cow goddess Bat on the Narmer Palette. Commenting on the distinctive modelling of the eyes and nose on the two objects, Harrington concludes that “this unusual facial feature alone seems to be a fairly secure dating criterion for MacGregor Man.”⁴Harrington 2006, 662 If the MacGregor Man and the Coptos Colossi date to the time of Narmer, as seems likely, then the ivory tusk figurines probably do too. If one wishes to maintain a Naqada I date for some of these objects then this means that Egyptian craftsmen produced images of men with skull caps and pointed beards for nearly a millennium without much alteration.

One final point of comparison comes from Mesopotamia where we find Uruk period limestone statues of the so-called “priest king” of Uruk.  These statues depict a naked figure with a shaved face and a flowing beard, a peculiar style, but identical with to that worn by the MacGregor Man, except the latter is more pointed.  Other similarities include the lack of detailing of the beard, almond-shaped eyes, rigid frontality, and the absence of clothing.  In light of the extensive evidence of Mesopotamian influence visible in Egypt during this period, the similarities are unlikely to be a coincidence.