Where Is Standing figure of Amenhotep III? Museum Location

Q: What is a Heb-Sed festival?

A royal rejuvenation ceremony meant to renew the pharaoh's strength and right to rule. This statue may have been dedicated during Amenhotep III's third Heb-Sed in year 37 of his reign. Very few pharaohs ruled long enough to celebrate three.

Q: Why does he look heavy?

The portly body is a deliberate artistic choice from late in his reign. Later portraits of Amenhotep III show a heavier figure, possibly reflecting his actual aging or a new artistic convention for depicting mature authority.

Q: Where can I see this?

Gallery 119 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's from the Theodore M. Davis Collection, 22.2 cm tall, carved from chlorite schist.

Ancient Egyptian A small standing figure of Amenhotep III carved from chlorite schist. The portly profile identifies this as a work from late in his reign, around 1390-1352 BCE. A djed-pillar (symbol of stability) forms the back pillar, and inscriptions link the king with the Theban god Amun-Re.

Scholars suggest this was dedicated during Amenhotep's third Heb-Sed (royal rejuvenation ceremony) in year 37 of his reign. Only a handful of pharaohs celebrated three such festivals. The pleated sleeve detail on the right arm is an innovation that became universal during his son Akhenaten's reign and continued long afterward.

It stands 22.2 cm tall and is in Gallery 119 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from the Theodore M. Davis Collection.

A royal rejuvenation ceremony meant to renew the pharaoh's strength and right to rule. This statue may have been dedicated during Amenhotep III's third Heb-Sed in year 37 of his reign. Very few pharaohs ruled long enough to celebrate three.

The portly body is a deliberate artistic choice from late in his reign. Later portraits of Amenhotep III show a heavier figure, possibly reflecting his actual aging or a new artistic convention for depicting mature authority.

Gallery 119 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's from the Theodore M. Davis Collection, 22.2 cm tall, carved from chlorite schist.

Standing figure of Amenhotep III

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The Artist

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