Statue of Deified Amenhotep I

Statue of Deified Amenhotep I

Nina de Garis Davies

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Each year several commemorative festivals were held in the artisans’ village of Deir el-Medina in celebration of its founder, the deified king Amenhotep I. Here, the horizontal beams indicate that his elaborate statue sits on top of a palanquin, which was used during processions. The palanquin features the protective figures of a goddess with outstretched wings, a striding sphinx wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, a so called ba-bird, and a striding lion. Even though the context of this scene does not necessarily derive from an actual festival, it illustrates the type of statues carried during such events. The tall bouquet of flowers at right was presented as an offering. Such bouquets can often be seen in depictions of celebrations or offering scenes. In addition to the flowers’ decorative qualities and pleasing scent, they had symbolic value, since their name, ankh, is also the word for life.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Statue of Deified Amenhotep IStatue of Deified Amenhotep IStatue of Deified Amenhotep IStatue of Deified Amenhotep IStatue of Deified Amenhotep I

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.