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Arm Panel From a Ceremonial Chair of Thutmose IV

New Kingdom
ca. 1400–1390 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 899
This wooden panel is part of the left arm of a throne that belonged to the pharaoh Thutmose IV. Traces of glue on the surface suggest that the low relief, with its exquisitely carved details, was once covered with gold foil. On one side, the king is shown as a standing sphinx subduing the enemies of Egypt. The falcon at the upper right represents the god Horus who is identified as "the great god, with dappled plumage, giving life and dominion." The text above the sphinx's back reads: "Horus, the lord of might and action, trampling all foreign lands."

On the other side, the panel depicts the enthroned king wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt. In front of him is the lion-headed goddess Weret-hekau who is depicted in coronation scenes and is associated with the uraeus cobra at the front of the king's crown. Behind the king is the ibis-headed god Thoth who presents him with "millions of years of life and dominion united with eternity."

A second arm panel from the same throne is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. They were discovered in Thutmose IV's tomb in the Valley of the Kings by Theodore M. Davis, who acquired them in the division of finds. The scenes on the panels suggest that the throne was used either for the king's coronation, or for his thirty-year rejuvenation festival, the Heb-Sed.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Arm Panel From a Ceremonial Chair of Thutmose IV
  • Period: New Kingdom
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 18
  • Reign: reign of Thutmose IV
  • Date: ca. 1400–1390 BCE
  • Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Tomb of Thutmose IV (KV 43), Davis/Carter excavations, 1903
  • Medium: Wood (Ficus sycomorus?)
  • Dimensions: H. 26 × W. 30 × Th. 2.2 cm (10 1/4 × 11 13/16 × 7/8 in.)
  • Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915
  • Object Number: 30.8.45a–c
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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3415. Arm Panel from a Throne of Thutmose IV

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