Head of a Kushite Ruler

Kushite royal statues, particularly examples from Upper Egypt, emphasize the foreign, non-Egyptian origin of their subjects. This head, perhaps of King Shabaqa, shows the ruler with a broad, nearly round face characteristic of the Kushite people. His regalia also reflects Kushite influence, and his shortly cropped hair—bound by a broad headband—is a feature never seen on native Egyptian sculpture. A knob, now gone, at the front of the headband once accommodated two uraeus cobras. On statues of kings, the double cobra is uniquely Kushite as well.