Defaced Hatshepsut

There’s a lot going on in this picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 and I’m going to do my best to talk about it all! This is a red granite 𓅓𓌳𓏏𓎶 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of a defaced Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 which was found during the excavation of her temple at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦𓏥𓉐. This excavation was a joint effort between the MET and the Egyptian government. 

I love that the blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 and yellow paint 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 is still retained on the nemes 𓈖𓅓𓋴 head cloth. The nemes 𓈖𓅓𓋴 head cloth is a traditional striped piece of linen 𓍱 or fabric that pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏥 wore on their heads. There was usually a Uraeus 𓇋𓂝𓂋𓏏𓆗 on the forehead, but on this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾, the Uraeus 𓇋𓂝𓂋𓏏𓆗 is missing. On a lot of statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 the Uraeus 𓇋𓂝𓂋𓏏𓆗 would just get broken off in antiquity, however, this one seems to have been deliberately destroyed. 

Blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 and red 𓂧𓈙𓂋𓅟 paint 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 can also still be seen on the broad collar 𓅱𓋴𓐍𓎺𓋝 that Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is wearing around her neck. The broad collar 𓅱𓋴𓐍𓎺𓋝 was the necklace 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏏𓋧 of choice for royals and the gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹.

The most prominent feature on this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is the fact that the face has been seemingly hacked away in antiquity. About 25 𓎆𓎆𓏾 years after Hatshepsut’s 𓇳𓁦𓂓 death, Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 went on a campaign to have her statuary destroyed and her name 𓂋𓈖 taken off of monuments 𓏠𓏍. No one knows why this occurred or the events that lead up to Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 doing this! 

Usually pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏥 would just usurp the statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 of previous rulers, but Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 didn’t do this with Hatshepsut’s 𓇳𓁦𓂓 statuary, it was just destroyed and then buried. The running theory is that the statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 were too “Hatshepsut-like” and thus could not be reused! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.