LATE PERIOD, 26TH DYNASTY, REIGN OF NECHO II, CIRCA 610-595 B.C.

Necho II was the third Pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty. He is perhaps best known for his unsuccessful attempt to aid the Neo-Assyrians in their struggle against Nebuchadnezzar II and the Neo-Babylonian army, culminating in his defeat in 605 B.C. at the Great Battle of Carchemish in Syria. Necho II was more successful in 601 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar's army attempted to invade Egypt itself. Necho was able to stave off the forces and avoid the onslaught. Another achievement is told by the Greek historian, Herodotus, who, writing a century later, relates that Necho commissioned a successful naval expedition to circumnavigate Africa.

While there are few surviving images of Pharaoh Necho II, a very similar example is in the collection of the University Museum in Philadelphia (see no. 31 in D. Silverman, ed., Searching for Ancient Egypt, Art, Architecture and Artifacts). E.R. Robertson informs that "while the surviving examples of Necho II are quite dissimilar, this figure can be attributed due to its long face, sickle-shaped mouth, and high-placed, slanting eyes, all characteristic of sculpture made during his reign." (p. 108 op. cit.).

Kneeling, royal statuettes would have been placed on the processional barks of cult statues in antiquity, for the purpose of enabling the pharaoh to "participate magically" in religious festivals (p. 108 op. cit).