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Colossal of Akhenaten

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A colossal statue that represents Akhenaten standing with his arms folded, holding the flail and heka scepters. He is depicted with his particular realistic features; long face, narrow eyes, the long protruding chin, and the fleshy lips. The king is shown naked, without any distinctive sexual organ, which is thought, by some Egyptologists to represent the king as "the primordial god considered as the father and the mother" of the people.

This colossal statue was discovered with a similar statue, but with small differences. They were erected at Karnak, resting against pillars in the courtyard of the temple built by him, next to the temple of Amun-Ra. In the other statue, the king is wearing the traditional pleated kilt but with low waist to show his swollen belly.

The two colossi were sculpted at the early period of his reign before he transferred his capital from Thebes to Tell el-Amarna.

Present location

EGYPTIAN MUSEUM [01/001] CAIRO EM

Inventory number

JE 49528

Dating

AMENHOTEP IV/AMENOPHIS IV/NEFERKHEPERURE/AKHENATEN

Archaeological Site

KARNAK

Category

COLOSSUS

Material

SANDSTONE

Technique

HEWN

Height

400 cm