Statue of Ramesses II

Seated statue of Ramesses II
Egypt (from Tell Nabasha, temple of Wadjet, approach to pylon), New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, reign of Ramesses II, 1279–1213 B.C.E.
Granodiorite, Height x width x depth: 205 x 54 x 104 cm (80 11/16 x 21 1/4 x 40 15/16 in.)
Egypt Exploration Fund by subscription 1887, MFA #87.111
Photos ©Joan Ann Lansberry, 2014


"During a reign of almost seventy years, Ramesses II conducted an ambitious architechural campaign, producing temples and other buildings up and down the Nile valley. Countless statues of the king filled these temples. Somw were carved specifically for Ramesses, while others were usurped from earlier kings. This statue originally represented Amenhotep III, who ruled a century earlier. Ramesses' sculptors 'slenderized' the torso and arms, re-carved the face, cut back the throne, and re-inscribed its sides with the names and titles of Ramesses. Perhaps taking a lesson from his own practices, Ramesses had the inscriptions very deeply cut so that later pharaohs could not erase and re-inscribe them." (From info card)


Somewhat blurry view of those deeply cut inscriptions...


The Met Museum has two more of Amenhotep III's statues, these usurped by Merneptah