Overview
- The Colossal Statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye is a group statue featuring the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III, his wife Tiye, and three of their daughters.
- It is made of limestone and measures 4.4 meters in width and 7 meters in height.
- The statue is currently located in the main hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, but it originally stood in the temple complex of Medinet Habu in Thebes.
Description
- The statue features Amenhotep III and Tiye seated side by side, with three smaller figures depicting their daughters standing in between them.
- Amenhotep III is shown wearing traditional royal attire, including the nemes headdress with a uraeus, a false beard, and a kilt. He is resting his hands on his knees.
- Tiye is seated on Amenhotep’s left and is shown with her arm around his waist. She is depicted wearing an ankle-length dress and a heavy wig with a vulture headdress, modius, and double uraei.
- The three daughters are shown in close-fitting dresses and full wigs. Two of the daughters are identified as Henuttaneb and Nebetah, but the name of the third daughter has been lost.
- The statue is notable for its size, as it is the largest known dyad ever carved. It is also notable for its depiction of Tiye, who is shown with a height equal to that of Amenhotep, indicating her prominent status.
History
- The Colossal Statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye was likely carved around the time of the pharaoh’s first sed festival, which took place in the third decade of his reign.
- It is thought to have originally stood in the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, which was the largest temple complex in Thebes at the time. However, the temple was later destroyed and its stones were reused in other building projects.
- The statue was discovered in fragments in the late 19th century and was later restored and moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
- Some theories suggest that the statue may have been usurped by Ramesses III when he used blocks from Amenhotep’s temple to construct his own temple at Medinet Habu. However, the original names of the figures were not erased.
