<em>Amunhotep I in the White Crown</em>, ca. 1525–1504 B.C.E. Limestone, 13 1/2 x 8 x 1 1/4 in. (34.3 x 20.3 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 71.82. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.71.82_erg2.jpg)

Amunhotep I in the White Crown, ca. 1525–1504 B.C.E. Limestone, 13 1/2 x 8 x 1 1/4 in. (34.3 x 20.3 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 71.82. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.71.82_erg2.jpg)

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I'm looking at the "Face of Amunhotep II," and there's a picture of Amunhotep I nearby! Why do they look so different?

There are a few factors. First, carving a 3-D sculpture is a very different process from carving a relief. There are also differences in who created these.

Why does Amunhotep II not come right after Amunhotep I?

In ancient Egypt, when a king was crowed he chose up to five names, in this case "Amunhotep" is the throne name that both of these kings chose.

Of course, Amunhotep II chose his name to recall the accomplishments of Amunhotep I or because of their family relationship.

Oh! I see. So that's why they look similar in the face? They both have narrow eyes?

Partially, also that was a trend seen in the early part of the 18th Dynasty. Notice that the head of Hatshepsut has relatively similar facial features.

So it's like Amunhotep I is the idol of Amunhotep II?

It's possible. It's also possible that he didn't want to be compared to his immediate predecessor, Thutmose III who was a long reigning and successful pharaoh, so he chose the name of a different ancestor.

Oh ! That make sense.

Tell me more.

The king represented here, Amunhotep I, ruled during the first part of the 18th Dynasty. Kings from this time period were often depicted with these distinctive facial features--narrow eyes, a small nose, and a suggestion of a smile. Notice the similarities in images of kings named Thutmose, for example.

Amunhotep I in the White Crown

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

This raised relief shows Amunhotep I wearing a royal beard and the tall White Crown of Upper Egypt with a royal uraeus-cobra. The fragment comes from one of several chapels that Amunhotep I built within the Karnak Temple for the god Amun. These chapels imitate Middle Kingdom examples erected by Senwosret I of the Twelfth Dynasty, about four hundred years earlier. Certain features, however—including the curved iris of the eye, a long, curving nose with accentuated nostril, and a raised line around the corner of the mouth—typify Eighteenth Dynasty style.

MEDIUM Limestone

Place Found: Thebes (Karnak), Egypt

DATES ca. 1525–1504 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 13 1/2 x 8 x 1 1/4 in. (34.3 x 20.3 x 3.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 71.82

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Relief representation, in creamy-white limestone, of the head of a king facing right. Before his face are the partial remains of a cartouche. Condition: Mended from several pieces.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Amunhotep I in the White Crown, ca. 1525–1504 B.C.E. Limestone, 13 1/2 x 8 x 1 1/4 in. (34.3 x 20.3 x 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 71.82. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.71.82_erg2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.71.82_erg2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 10/16/2007

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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