Colossal kings rebuilt in Luxor
Two towering statues of Amenhotep III had lain in pieces for centuries.
Two reconstructed colossal statues of King Amenhotep III, who ruled around 1388 BC to 1348 BC, have been unveiled in Egypt.
Both statues are carved from red quartzite and have been erected in their original positions within the pharaoh’s funerary temple on Luxor’s west bank.
Standing 11.5 metres tall, and similar in appearance to the famous Colossi of Memnon, which flank the temple’s entrance,
The Art Newspaper
April 11, 2014
© AFP
one of the statues shows King Amenhotep III seated, wearing a nemes-headdress and a kilt tied with a belt.
The king’s hands rest upon his knees, while a figure of Queen Tiye, Amenhotep III’s principal wife, stands beside his right leg at a much smaller scale. Though missing, a figure of Amenhotep III’s mother, Mutemwiya, originally stood beside the king’s left leg. The second statue shows the king standing.
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