Colossal red granite statue of Amenhotep III
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The 18th Dynasty
Ancient Egyptian
colossal red granite statue of Amenhotep III, dating from c.1370 BC was found in the temple enclosure
of Mut
at Karnak
in Egypt
. Two parts of the broken colossal statue are known: the head and an arm. Both parts are now in the British Museum
.
, one of the huge number of statues that he set up to himself in Thebes
.
It is uncertain whether it was originally erected at its findspot at the Temple of Mut in Karnak, or if it came to be there having been removed in antiquity from Amenhotep's massive mortuary temple
on the West Bank of the River Nile at Kom el-Hitan. Other colossal statues of Amenhotep III include the two Colossi of Memnon
, which still stand at his mortuary temple at Kom el-Hitan.
The statue is made of red granite
. It is fragmentary: only the head and an arm are known to survive.
After its discovery, the statue was originally ascribed by scholars as a statue of King Thutmose III
. The confusion has arisen from modification of the head by later rulers - it was common practice in Ancient Egypt for pharaohs to usurp statues of earlier rulers, modifying and re-inscribing them. The lips have had their corners drilled to suggest a smaller mouth, and the heavy cosmetic lines around the eyes, suggestive of the style of cosmetic fashion in Amenhotep III's time, have been largely erased. It is now thought that the alterations were made in the time of and to represent Ramesses II
.
and Henry William Beechey in 1817. The head was found in front of the temple of Khonsupakhered. After uncovering the head, it needed to be moved to Luxor
on the Nile for transport upriver to Alexandria and thence to London. Moving the head was not easy: it took 8 days to transport it the one mile (1.6 km) to Luxor. Belzoni does not mention the exact findspot of the arm, though it is assumed it was found with the head.
The head was stored for a period in the house of Signor Rosi in Cairo
:
, the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt
. It was acquired in 1823 by the British Museum from Henry Salt. It has the reference number EA 15 and is displayed in Room 4 of the Museum.
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
colossal red granite statue of Amenhotep III, dating from c.1370 BC was found in the temple enclosure
Precinct of Mut
The Precinct of Mut, located near Luxor, Egypt, is one of the four main temple enclosures that make up the immense Karnak Temple Complex and occupies some 150,000 m². It is dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Mut, the mother goddess. The area in which the precinct is located, originally was known as...
of Mut
Mut
Mut, which meant mother in the ancient Egyptian language, was an ancient Egyptian mother goddess with multiple aspects that changed over the thousands of years of the culture. Alternative spellings are Maut and Mout. She was considered a primal deity, associated with the waters from which...
at Karnak
Karnak
The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak—comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amun and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Ramses II . Sacred Lake is part of the site as well. It is located near Luxor, some...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Two parts of the broken colossal statue are known: the head and an arm. Both parts are now in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
The statue
The statue is thought to have been erected by King Amenhotep IIIAmenhotep III
Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...
, one of the huge number of statues that he set up to himself in Thebes
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
.
It is uncertain whether it was originally erected at its findspot at the Temple of Mut in Karnak, or if it came to be there having been removed in antiquity from Amenhotep's massive mortuary temple
Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III
The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III is located in the Theban necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor in Egypt. It was built for the Pharaoh Amenhotep III...
on the West Bank of the River Nile at Kom el-Hitan. Other colossal statues of Amenhotep III include the two Colossi of Memnon
Colossi of Memnon
The Colossi of Memnon are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For the past 3400 years they have stood in the Theban necropolis, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor.-Description:The twin statues depict Amenhotep III The Colossi of Memnon (known to locals as...
, which still stand at his mortuary temple at Kom el-Hitan.
The statue is made of red granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. It is fragmentary: only the head and an arm are known to survive.
After its discovery, the statue was originally ascribed by scholars as a statue of King Thutmose III
Thutmose III
Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
. The confusion has arisen from modification of the head by later rulers - it was common practice in Ancient Egypt for pharaohs to usurp statues of earlier rulers, modifying and re-inscribing them. The lips have had their corners drilled to suggest a smaller mouth, and the heavy cosmetic lines around the eyes, suggestive of the style of cosmetic fashion in Amenhotep III's time, have been largely erased. It is now thought that the alterations were made in the time of and to represent Ramesses II
Ramesses II
Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...
.
Discovery
The broken statue was discovered in the temple enclosure of Mut at Karnak by Giovanni Battista BelzoniGiovanni Battista Belzoni
Giovanni Battista Belzoni , sometimes known as The Great Belzoni, was a prolific Venetian explorer of Egyptian antiquities.-Early life:...
and Henry William Beechey in 1817. The head was found in front of the temple of Khonsupakhered. After uncovering the head, it needed to be moved to Luxor
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
on the Nile for transport upriver to Alexandria and thence to London. Moving the head was not easy: it took 8 days to transport it the one mile (1.6 km) to Luxor. Belzoni does not mention the exact findspot of the arm, though it is assumed it was found with the head.
The head was stored for a period in the house of Signor Rosi in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
:
'One evening SaltHenry Salt (Egyptologist)Henry Salt was an English artist, traveller, diplomat, and Egyptologist.-Biography:Salt, the son of a physician, was born in Lichfield. He trained as a portrait painter, first in Lichfield and then in London under Joseph Farington and John Hoppner. In 1802 he was appointed secretary and...
took him [a Captain FitzClarence] to call on Signor Rossi, where he had deposited some interesting items brought from the neighbourhood of Thebes, including a head of 'Orus', "10 feet from the top of the mitre to the chin, having a band at the bottom part of it not unlike a turban ... made of red granite ... and in a very fine state of preservation ... an arm 18 feet long of the same statue with the fist clenched."'
The head
The head is 2.90m high, and is depicted wearing the pschentPschent
The Pschent was the name of the Double Crown of Ancient Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians generally referred to it as sekhemti , the Two Powerful Ones. It combined the Red Deshret Crown of Lower Egypt and the White Hedjet Crown of Upper Egypt....
, the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt
Upper and Lower Egypt
Ancient Egypt was divided into two regions, namely Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. To the north was Lower Egypt where the Nile stretched out with its several branches to form the Nile Delta. To the south was Upper Egypt, stretching to Syene. The two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were united c....
. It was acquired in 1823 by the British Museum from Henry Salt. It has the reference number EA 15 and is displayed in Room 4 of the Museum.
The arm
The arm, a left arm, is 3.30m long and terminates in a clenched fist. It was acquired in 1823 by the British Museum from Henry Salt. It has the reference number EA 55 and is displayed in Room 4 of the Museum.Reading
- T.G.H. James and W.V. Davies, Egyptian sculpture (London, The British Museum Press, 1983)
- A.P. Kozloff and B.M. Bryan, Egypts dazzling sun: Amenhotep (Cleveland Museum of Art, 1992)
- Deborah Manley and Peta Rée, Henry Henry Salt: artist, traveller, diplomat, Egyptologist London: Libri, 2001)
- Strudwick, Nigel, Masterpieces of Ancient Egypt, London: British Museum Publications, 2006 p160-1