Image Gallery
Amenhotep III
From the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, Thebes, Egypt
18th Dynasty, about 1350 BC
Amenhotep III commissioned hundreds of sculptures for his mortuary temple on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes, though the precise original location of most of them is not known. They included not only figures of the king but also a large range of animal sculptures in a variety of stones. A development of Amenhotep III's reign was the extensive use of colossal sculpture.
This colossal limestone head and upper torso shows the king bare chested but wearing a wide decorative collar. On his head is the striped, royal nemes headdress, surmounted by a coiled cobra (uraeus). Originally the sculpture had a beard but this has been badly damaged. Parts of several large statues from Amenhotep III's mortuary temple are now in The British Museum.
A.P. Kozloff and B.M. Bryan, Egypts dazzling sun: Amenhotep (Cleveland Museum of Art, 1992)
T.G.H. James and W.V. Davies, Egyptian sculpture (London, The British Museum Press, 1983)
© Trustees of the British Museum.
Questions & Answers
How long were there kings and queens in ancient Egypt?
- The monarchy of ancient Egypt lasted from the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150 - c.2613 BCE) through the Ptolemaic Period (323-30 BCE).
Who is the most famous king of ancient Egypt?
- Tutankhamun is the most famous king of ancient Egypt owing to the discovery of his nearly completely intact tomb in 1922.
Who is the most famous queen of ancient Egypt?
- The most famous queen of ancient Egypt is Cleopatra VII who was not actually Egyptian but Macedonian Greek.
Who was the first and the last monarch of ancient Egypt?
- The first king of ancient Egypt was Narmer (also known as Menes) and the last queen of ancient Egypt was Cleopatra VII.
