The only Pharaoh called by historians ‘The Great’, Amenhotep III was one of the most significant kings in Egypt’s long history. Having come to the throne at an age between 6 and 12, it is likely that he was initially represented by a regent. He displayed the qualities of bravery and physical prowess in abundance early in his reign; by Year 10, he had supposedly killed either 102 or 110 lions in ritualised royal lion hunts. Amenhotep’s long reign was marked by an artistic and cultural golden age; he engaged in a massive building programme at the temples, innovating with entirely new architectural forms such as the open courtyard for the worship of the sun. The Pharaoh was known for his lavish and spectacular heb-sed festivals, the celebration of 30 years of his rule. Very few Pharaohs made this milestone, and it is known that Amenhotep did it in some style. The festivals were later re-enacted, as a link to the glories of former times.

This portrait of a Pharaoh may represent Amenhotep III; more than 250 positively identified portraits of Amenhotep III are known from antiquity, and so we have a good understanding of the development of his image across his reign. This portrait shares that Pharaoh’s long, almond-shaped eyes – which are angled so as to look down on the viewer – with a kohl outline extending nearly to the temples, as well as the deeply incised dimples and rounded nostrils. This Pharaoh wears the pschent crown, which combines the red bucket-shaped crown of Lower Egypt with the white bottle-shaped crown of Upper Egypt (the top of which is missing). On the brow of the crown is the uraeus, a spitting cobra avatar of the goddess Wadjet, designed to protect the Pharaoh from his enemies. The Pharaoh has a short forehead, long eyebrows, slender eyes, relatively large ears, high cheeks, a graceful nose, and thick lips across which dances a playful smile. Remains exist of the Pharaoh’s false beard, and of a back pillar which once would have displayed the Pharaoh’s names. The lower part of the face has been broken off and restored in modern times.

The portraiture of the Pharaohs was designed to exude power. The idealised features expressed godlike perfection; the flawless symmetry of pharaonic faces demonstrated that the king was himself a god, his moral and physical attributes wrought in his appearance. But pharaonic portraiture is also noted for the softness of the king’s image. Pharaohs usually bear a benign smile, open watchful eyes, and a slight plumpness of the facial features which is often at odds with the athletic proportions of the torso. The Pharaoh is therefore presented as an individual with the best interests of Egypt and its people at heart. After all, it was Pharaoh who kept the divine cosmic balance in order, who ensured the fertility of the farmlands along the banks of the river, and who paternalistically protected Egyptian society from external intruders.

References: similar images, known to depict Amenhotep III, are known from London (British Museum EA6, EA7, EA15).