Standing figure of Amenhotep III

Standing figure of Amenhotep III


Period: New Kingdom

Dynasty: Dynasty 18

Reign: reign of Amenhotep III

Date: ca. 1391–1353 B.C.

Geography: From Egypt

Medium: Serpentine

Dimensions: h. 23 cm (9 1/16 in); w. 5.5 cm (2 3/16 in.); d. 10.2 cm (4 in)

Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915

Accession Number: 30.8.74

The portly profile of the king identifies this as a work from late in the reign of Amenhotep III. The back pillar is in the form of a djed-pillar, a hieroglyph symbolizing stability. The inscriptions associate the king with the Theban god Amun-Re and it has been suggested that this statuette was dedicated as part of Amenhotep's third Heb-Sed, a rejuvenation ceremony celebrated in year 37 of his reign.

The king wears a shawl draped over his left arm and a fringed tunic beneath. Innovatively, the sleevelike piece of the tunic that hangs over the right arm has been pleated. This detail represents the beginning of a trend that would become universally accepted during the reign of Akhenaten (ca. 1349–1332 B.C.) and continue long after.

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