Head from a statue of Pharaoh Thutmosis III

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Head from a statue of Pharaoh Thutmosis III

Datemid-15th century B.C.

Label TextOne of ancient Egypt's highest achievers is depicted in this fragment of a life size statue. Above the forehead is the hood of a cobra whose fiery breath and toxic bite were thought to keep all hostile powers away from a King's body. Thutmosis III ruled after spending twenty-two years in the shadow of Hatshepsut, who usurped his throne and was a queen of unprecedented power. He became known as a great warrior who never lost a battle while capturing 350 cities in Palestine, Syria and Nubia. His archivists--perhaps biased--state that his treatment of the conquered was humane and that he took foreign princes hostage to train them to become Egyptian allies before returning them to their homeland.

Object number52.70

ProvenanceExcavated by Sir Robert Mond at Temples of Armant; [Hagop Kevorkian, New York]; purchased by Seattle Art Museum (with funds from Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection), March 18, 1952, by exchange

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Hero/Antihero, December 21, 2002 - August 17, 2003 Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Images of Immortality, December 2, 1988Published ReferencesMond, Sir Robert and Myers, Oliver H., Temples of Armant: A Preliminary Survey, London: The Egypt Exploration Society, 1940, p. 51, illus. pl. XIX Teeter, Emily, Egyptian Art in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1988, no. 5, p. 10 Teeter, Emily. "Ancient Art of the Mediterranean and the Near East." In Selected Works, pp. 29-32. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1991; p. 30, reproduced (as Head of a King). Teeter, Emily. "The Egyptian Collection of the Seattle Art Museum." KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt, vol. 12, no. 3 (Fall 2001): reproduced p. 30.

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensions11 1/2 x 14 x 11 in. (29.2 x 35.6 x 28 cm)

MediumBasalt