Statue of Senwosret III

This is a black granite statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 of the 12th 𓎆𓏻 Dynasty pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Senwosret III 𓇳𓈍𓂓𓂓𓂓. Senwosret III 𓇳𓈍𓂓𓂓𓂓 is thought to be the most powerful pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 of the 12th 𓎆𓏻 Dynasty because his successful military campaigns gave rise to an era of peace 𓊵𓏏𓊪. Peace 𓊵𓏏𓊪 led to economic prosperity, and this led to a newfound revival in artistry and craft works.

This newfound artistry during this time period then led to some new styles in how the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was portrayed in statuary. The statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪 of Senwosret III 𓇳𓈍𓂓𓂓𓂓 are so distinctive that they can be immediately recognized as his, even without reading the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪. Some parts of the statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 are realistic, like the protruding eye sockets and the lines on his face, while some features, like the young and strong torso, are most likely idealized. Egyptologists can only speculate on why he was portrayed this way – some argue that it’s because Senwosret III 𓇳𓈍𓂓𓂓𓂓 wanted to be seen as human before divine.

This statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 in particular shows Senwosret III 𓇳𓈍𓂓𓂓𓂓 wearing the royal nemes 𓈖𓅓𓋴 headcloth. Beneath his feet are nine bows – each meant to represent one of Egypt’s 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 enemies. Since the enemies are beneath his feet, it shows successful defeat by the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻!

In the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, you can see his Horus name𓅃𓊁[𓊹 𓆣𓅱] which I think means “Horus in divine form.” Also, you can see his prenomen or “throne name” which is marked by the 𓆥 (he of the sedge and the bee aka King of Upper and Lower Egypt) hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 before the cartouche. 𓇳𓈍𓂓𓂓𓂓 means “the Souls of Ra have returned.”