Statue of Tantamani (Tanwetamani)

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Statue of Tantamani (Tanwetamani)

Period Third Intermediate Period Ancient Egyptian, 1070–664 BCE

Dynasty Dynasty 25 (Nubian) Ancient Egyptian, 712–664 BCE

Place of OriginSudan, Jebel Barkal (ancient Napata), near Temple of Amun

Datec. 750–270 BCE; 712–657 BCE

Dimensions79 1/2 in. (201.9 cm)

Mediumgranodiorite

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1949.105

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 01

Collections

Sculpture

Published ReferencesReisner, George A., "Excavations at Napata," Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), XV, June 1917, p. 30, fig. 7.

Reisner, George A., "The Barkal Temples in 1916," Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, IV, 1917, p. 216-217, 2.

Reisner, George A., "The Barkal Temples in 1916," Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, IV, part 2, IV, 1920, p. 251, pl. XXXII.

Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, El Kurru, Pyramid 16, April - June 1921, p. 23.

Dunham, Dows, The Royal Cemeteries of Kush, vol. I: El Kurru, Cambridge, Mass., 1950, pp. 60-62 (describes the tomb of Tanwet-Amani).

Guide, The Toledo Museum of Art, 1959, p. 5, repr.

Russmann, Edna R., "Two Royal Heads of the Late Period in Brooklyn," Brooklyn Museum Annual, vol. 10, 1968-1969, p. 104, 106, repr. p. 105.

The Toledo Museum of Art, A Guide to the Collections, Toledo, 1966, repr.

Luckner, Kurt T., "The Art of Egypt, Part 2," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, new series, vol. 14, no.3, Fall 1971, p. 71, repr. fig. 14, p. 73.

Russmann, Edna R., The Representation of the King in the XXVth Dynasty, Brussels, 1974, pp. 22-23, 51, repr. fig. 21.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Treasures, Toledo, 1995, p. 37, repr. (col.).

Duncan, Sally Anne, Otto Wittmann: Museum Man for All Seasons, Toledo, 2001, p. 15.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 67, repr. (col.).

Peck, William H., Sandra E. Knudsen and Paula Reich, Egypt in Toledo: The Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 2011, p. 74-75, repr. (col.) p. 11, 19, 74, 75.

Riggs, Christina, Ancient Egyptian Art and Architecture: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 8-11, repr. p. 9.

Label TextAlthough created late in Egyptian history, this work is an excellent example of an enduring style of royal sculpture created around 3000 BCE. Laboriously carved from hard stone, it is blocky and bold, with erect posture, left foot striding forward, straightened arms, and tightly clenched hands. Adorned with jewelry and dressed in a royal kilt, its robust body and stance create an imposing presence. Its essential purpose was to express the superhuman power associated with any pharaoh, while simultaneously acting as a “magical substitute” for an individual one. Inscribed in three places with all or part of the king’s names and titles—can you find where?—it was intended to be an eternal expression of Pharaoh Tanwetamani’s cosmic authority. This work depicts a non-Egyptian, Nubian king of the 25th Dynasty; his temporary rule over the Nile valley allowed him to appropriate Egyptian royal titles and sculptural styles. When an avenging Egyptian army swept southward into Nubia (modern Sudan) in 593 BCE, they attacked and shattered this and other sculptures located at a great temple at Jebel Barkal.