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Egyptian Artifacts

Usurped Statues of Amenhotep III (Part 1)

I must admit – I am very guilty of walking past these statuesΒ π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺΒ at the MET a lot because usually I want to go straight for the Temple of Dendur!! These pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 are from May, but when I went to the MET earlier this month I got some close up photos 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 of these gorgeous π“„€ statuesΒ π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ, so I’m going to do a bit of a series on them! TodayΒ π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³Β we will learn the history, and then we will read the hieroglyphsΒ π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺΒ tomorrow 𓇼𓄿𓇳!Β 

These two 𓏻 statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ originally belonged to the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Amenhotep III π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“‹Ύπ“‹†. While these two 𓏻 statues π“„šπ“ˆ–𓏏𓏭𓀾π“ͺ now adorn the entrance to the museum exhibit of the Temple of Dendur, they originally were located at Amenhotep III’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“‹Ύπ“‹† temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ dedicated to Amun-Ra π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–𓇳𓏺 at Thebes π“Œ€π“π“Š– (modern day Luxor). Amenhotep III π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“‹Ύπ“‹† ruled π“‹Ύ Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– during the 18th Dynasty. 

Then in the 19th Dynasty, along came the pharaoh π“‰π“‰» Merenptah π“‡³π“ƒ’π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ! Merenptah π“‡³π“ƒ’π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ was the son π“…­ of Rameses II π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“‡³π“Ίπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“, and like father π“‡‹π“π“€€ like son π“…­, Merenptah π“‡³π“ƒ’π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ usurped the statues π“„šπ“ˆ–𓏏𓏭𓀾π“ͺ of other pharaohs π“‰π“‰»π“¦ and put his name π“‚‹π“ˆ– on them! 

Usurping can be thought of as ancient plagiarism, and was very common during this time period. While I equate usurpation to plagiarism to put it in a modern context, the purpose wasn’t to defame the previous pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 of EgyptΒ π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–. The purpose was for the common pharaoh to promote his own rule π“‹Ύ, and what better way to do that than to use statuesΒ π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ, templesΒ π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰π“¦, etc. that already are made!?

It is always funny to see a statue π“„šπ“ˆ–𓏏𓏭𓀾 that has the facial features of one pharaoh π“‰π“‰», but has the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of another pharaoh π“‰π“‰» on it! Rameses II π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“‡³π“Ίπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ did this all the time – that man’s name π“‚‹π“ˆ– is everywhere!