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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of a Man Named Ahmose

This is gray schist statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ is of a man π“Šƒπ“€€π“€ named Ahmose π“‡Ήπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄ (but his nickname was Ruru). Schist is a metamorphic rock π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™, which means it formed under extreme heat and pressure. Schist is formed due to a process called regional metamorphism, which is a fancy way to say mountain building over big areas! Most of NYC is actually built on schist – it is an extremely strong and dense rock, hence why it can support NYC’s tremendous skyscrapers!

Even though this statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ is dated to the 18th Dynasty, it was definitely influenced by Middle Kingdom style art. The wig and the cloak that Ahmose π“‡Ήπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄ is depicted as wearing was a popular style during the Middle Kingdom. However, the facial structure of the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ is very much a New Kingdom style.

Ahmose π“‡Ήπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄ served as a high ranking government official π“‹΄π“‚‹π“€€(probably some type of priest π“ŠΉπ“›) during the reign of Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ, however her cartouches do not appear anywhere on the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ. Her cartouches were erased and you can now see the cartouche of Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 on the front inscription. This happened to a lot of objects bearing Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ name π“‚‹π“ˆ–, especially during the reign of Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣.

The name π“‚‹π“ˆ– Ahmose π“‡Ήπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄ was an extremely popular name during the 18th Dynasty. Ahmose π“‡Ήπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄ means β€œthe moon is born.”