Head of Amenhotep III
From Thebes, funerary temple of Amenhotep III
New Kingdom, Eighteenth Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III (about 1390-1352 B.C.)
Quartzite, Height 52-3/8 in.
EA 7, acquired in 1835 at the sale of the Salt Collection (cat. no. 52)
©Trustees of The British Museum, Courtesy AFA

This head, which shows King Amenhotep III wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt and the royal uraeus cobra, came from a standing statue more than 26-feet tall. It was one of many colossal statues of the king that originally stood in his immense funerary temple in Thebes. Although the face has Amenhotep’s distinctive features—large eyes, plump cheeks, and full lips—its remote expression is that of a god rather than a man. Amenhotep proclaimed himself a deity and was worshiped through statues like this even before his death.