Head of a Pharaoh Possibly From a Sphinx

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Head of a Pharaoh Possibly From a Sphinx

Artist Unidentified

Period New Kingdom Period (Ancient Egyptian, 1550–1070 BCE)

Dynasty Dynasty 19 (Ancient Egyptian, 1295–1186 BCE)

Place of OriginEgypt

Dateabout 1290 BCE

Dimensions8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)

Mediumgranodiorite

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1906.225

Not on View

DescriptionThe figure wears a royal headdress marked by the raised cobra (uraeus) on the brow, indicating kingship. The surface is moderately abraded but retains defined features including full lips and stylized eyes. The form is smoothly modeled and fractured at the base and sides, indicating it was broken from a larger statue, perhaps from a sphinx.

Label TextThis head of a pharaoh, crowned with the uraeus cobra, has long invited debate about its true subject. While once thought to represent Ramesses II—the powerful 19th Dynasty king known for colossal monuments—stylistic features suggest it may have originally depicted the earlier boy king Tutankhamun. Subtle reworking of the eyes, lips, and facial contours may have transformed the image to reflect a different ruler’s likeness. Other proposals have included Merenptah, Ramesses III, and Seti I, showing how fluid royal portraiture could be in ancient Egypt. Kings often appropriated and reshaped earlier images to align with their own authority. Carved from granodiorite quarried at Aswan, the head likely formed part of a temple statue, its presence asserting pharaonic power across generations.Published ReferencesMyśliwiec, Karol, Royal Portraiture of the Dynasties XXI–XXX, Mainz am Rhein, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1988, pp.16 (as „perhaps Osorkon I“), 22, 114 pl. XVIIId.

Málek, Jaromír, Diana Magee, and Elizabeth Miles, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings. VIII. Objects of Provenance Not Known. Part 1. Royal Statues. Private Statues (Predynastic to Dynasty XVII), Oxford, Griffith Institute, 1999, no. 800-798-700.

Brandl, Helmut, “Kunst und Gesellschaft in der Libyerzeit. Beobachtungen an Königsstatuen der Dritten Zwischenzeit,” Art and Society. Ancient and Modern Contexts of Egyptian Art, edited by Katalin Anna Kóthay, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 2012, p. 80, n. 17 (as New Kingdom).