Head of Amenhotep the Third

The pharaoh Amenhotep the Third is portrayed with the features of a young boy; he has a round full face, almond-shaped eyes, curved eyebrows, a small nose and a fleshy mouth.

These features determine that the head belonged to the so-called "second group" of portraits of Amenhotep the Third, from the last years of his reign. For this reason some Egyptologists have suggested that the image anticipates the characteristics of the revolutionary "Amarna art," which came into vogue with the accession of his son Akhenaten.

The pharaoh wears the blue crown decorated with small circles that was worn by pharaohs during battle and also during religious ceremonies in the temples. The crown is decorated with a large uraeus (cobra), which occupies almost the entire front of the crown and the snake's coils continue on the back.