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Statue of a kneeling Kushite king

Third Intermediate Period, Kushite Period
ca. 733–664 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 899
Kushite kings wore distinctive regalia, including a cap crown, double uraei, and ram's-head amulets. On this kneeling king, the double uraei have been "corrected" to one, while the ram's-head amulets on the necklace and the king's name on his belt have been hammered out by a later Saite king. The cap crown with a falcon engraved in the back, the bandeau with streamers, and the diadem with many tiny uraei were left untouched.

The small bronze kneeling figure represents two aspects of Kushite Period art that are intensifications of tendencies already extant in the Third Intermediate Period. Provision of small bronze royal attendant statuary demonstrated an specially pious regard for the gods and their temples. And, stylistically, there was an inclination toward models from the past, particularly the Old Kingdom, a taste clearly visible in the broad shoulders and narrow waist of the small bronze.

The large gold ram's-head amulet 1989.281.98 is an actual example of the type that was worn on this king's neck cord.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Statue of a kneeling Kushite king
  • Period: Third Intermediate Period, Kushite Period
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 25
  • Date: ca. 733–664 BCE
  • Geography: From Egypt and Sudan, Nubia
  • Medium: Bronze; gold leaf
  • Dimensions: H. 7.3 × W. 3.2 × D. 3.7 cm (2 7/8 × 1 1/4 × 1 7/16 in.)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift and Anne and John V. Hansen Egyptian Purchase Fund, 2002
  • Object Number: 2002.8
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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