Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Statue of Amenemhat III Standing in a Devotional Attitude
Middle Kingdom
Not on view
This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
Statues depicting the king and officials in a devotional pose are an innovation of the later Twelfth Dynasty. The style, size, and attitude of this sculpture link it to a group of statues deposited during a cleansing of Karnak temple, probably in the Ptolemaic Period. The facial furrows and hollows suggest an aged pharaoh, in contrast to the muscular body, creating a composite of a physically strong ruler able to protect his people and a mature king with the wisdom to lead them.
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