The statue depicts a standing figure with a tripartite smooth wig, a broad collar and a pleated apron. The back pillar has an inscription in large hieroglyphs naming the virtually unknown deity Imi-khent-wer. The donor of the statue bears a name which resembles that of Ramesses II, Weser-maat-re. The delicate face presumably renders the facial features of the king in a highly idealized fashion. The royal portrait not only was often adopted by private persons - or else influenced the representation of their own features -, kings also had statues of the gods made with royal features. The rough surface of some parts of the statue, such as the face and neck and the rear of the back pillar, contrasts with the perfect finish of the other parts. This fact, and especially the evident reworked state of the wig over the forehead, lead to the conclusion that the statue was remodelled in antiquity. It is not likely that the forehead was remodelled during a removal of a royal cobra because the remodelled surface is too large. It is possible that the remodelling took place at some stage during the manufacture of the piece, but it seems more likely that it happened later, perhaps during the 22nd Dynasty.
Rogge, E., Statuen des Neuen Reiches und der Dritten Zwischenzeit. Corpus Antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum (CAA) Wien 6 (1990), 76-83.
Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM). Führer durch die Sammlungen. Wien. 1988.
Seipel, W. (ed.), Götter Menschen Pharaonen, Speyer (1993) = Dioses, Hombres, Faraones, Ciudad de México (1993) = Das Vermächtnis der Pharaonen, Zürich (1994)
Seipel, W. (ed.), Gott Mensch Pharao (1992).
Satzinger, H., Das Kunsthistorische Museum in Wien. Die Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung. Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie 14. Mainz. 1994.
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