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the biggest statues which are exhibited inside museum.


Colossal Statue of King Amonhotep III and queen Tye.

- This colossal group statue represents king Amenhotep III and his wife queen Tye seating on high back seat or throne. Near their legs are three standing daughters.
- They are made out of limestone and were found in Medinet Habu.
- At the time of discovering these colossal statues, they were smashed into pieces, then the pieces were reassembled and some parts are restored.
- These colossi are considered the biggest statues which are exhibited inside museum.
- The Concept of Making Colossal Statue :
• Colossal statues were made to express the high position of the king and to show respect to him.
• The colossal statue appeared in the Old Kingdom (King Userkaf from the 5th dynasty). Then king Amenhotep III renewed the idea of making colossal statues.
- Historical Background about King Amenhotep III :
(1) King Amenhotep III is considered among the important king in the 18th dynasty.
(2) He is the son of king Thutmose IV and queen Mutemuya, the daughter of the king of Mittani.
(3) He ruled for about 40 years. His reign is remarked with peace. No troubles or revolutions against the Egyptian empire in Asia during his time.
- According to scenes, he sent an expedition in the fifth year of his reign into Nubia to assure control.
(4) King Amenhotep III married queen Tye in the second year of his reign.
- Queen Tye was not of royal blood but she belonged to a wealthy family. Her father is Yuya who was a military leader and her mother is Tuya who worked in the royal house.
- Amenhotep III got from her six children; four daughters and two sons. His eldest son is called Thutmose and he worked as a sem-priest but he died early. The second son Amenhotep IV who became ascended the throne after his father and changed his name to Akhenaton.
(5) King Amenhotep III had many wives; some are foreign princesses and he married them for diplomatic and political reasons and to keep peace with the other countries. He had many Egyptian princesses.
(6) King Amenhotep III was so found in art and construct that many building projects had been erected for him such as for example :
- The third pylon at the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak. Also there is a big scarab near the sacred lake.
- The temple of Luxor. In one of the rooms of the temple he depicted the scenes of his divine birth in which he claimed that his father is god Amun.
- His mortuary temple in the west bank of Thebes in which nothing remains except the so called colossal statues of Memnon.
- He has a huge palace at Malkata. ملقطه
- He had other buildings in Hermopolis, Memphis, Elkab, Bubastis, Letopolis and Heliopolis.
- A temple at Soleb in Nubia.
(7) His birth name (sA-Ra) is Imn-Htp-HqA-WAst which means Amon is satisfied, the ruler of Thebes. While his throne name (nsw-biti) is Nb-mAat-Re, which means "Lord of Truth is Re.
- Description of the Colossal Statues :
(1) King Amenhotep III and his wife queen are seating beside each other on high back seat. Near their legs are three standing daughters.
(2) King Amenhotep III is wearing the nms headdress with ureaus on the forehead. He is having the royal false beard and is wearing the royal kilt Sndyt.
(3) He is resting his two hands upon his legs. The artist succeeded in showing the facial features of the king in good way represented in calm face, remarkable eye brows, wide eyes, delicate nose, high check bones and fine mouth. The details of the body are made in perfect way.
(4) Queen Tye is shown while extending her right arm behind the back of king Amenhotep III as sort of love, care and tender.
(5) The queen is wearing heavy tripartite hair wig. The wig has the decoration of the body of the vulture goddess Nxbt of Upper Egypt. Upon the wig is a cylindrical base which was supposed to be surmounted by two feathers. On the forehead, there are three cobra goddesses representing WADt of Lower Egypt.
(6) The queen is wearing long dress. She is resting her left hand over her leg while her right hand is behind the back of the king.
(7) The facial features of the queen are shown in beautiful way.
(8) Between the legs of the king and the queen is a standing figure of their daughter @nt-tA-nb. She is having the same feature of her mother.
(9) On either side of the king and the queen is a figure for one daughter. But the two statues of the daughter are demolished
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Location: Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt

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