NEW KINGDOM, 18TH DYNASTY, REIGN OF AMENHOTEP II-THUTMOSE IV, 1427-1390 B.C.

Originally part of a block-statue representing an official crouching with his kilt drawn around his knees, the style of wig worn by this unknown individual is recognized from portraits of Pharaoh Thutmose IV. However, as B. Bryan has suggested, the wig style may have been in fashion before his reign (see “Portrait Sculpture of Thutmose IV,” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 1987, pp. 3-20). A similar example in the Virgina Museum of Fine Arts has been dated by Bryan to the reign of Amenhotep II, though the back pillar on that head ends at the neck, whereas on this example it extends nearly to the top of the head (see H.T.S. Reed, Ancient Art in the Virginia Museum, p. 37). Other similar examples include the block statue of Sobekhotep, governor of the Fayum, in Marseille, also dating to the reign of Amenhotep II (see R. Charles, "La statue-cube de Sobek-hotep Gouverneur du Fayoum,” Revue d'Égyptologie, vol. 12, pl. 1). Unlike these examples, however, the eyebrows and cosmetic line on the present head are finer and end in a curved point possibly suggesting an even earlier date.

The inscription in four vertical columns of incised hieroglyphs is largely destroyed and does not preserve the name or specific titles of the owner. The honorifics “hereditary prince” and “count” are widespread and these only denote his relatively high rank. It is possible that the fourth line preserves part of an “Appeal to the Living,” given the apparent use of second-person pronouns reflecting directing speech. The text preserved on the back-pillar reads, “Hereditary Prince and Count…he says…the august/noble…for your children, so that you might see it (?).”