Head of King Djedefre

Quartzite head of King Djedefre from Abu Rawash. Djedefre was the son of King Khufu ruled Egypt for 8 years and built his pyramid in Abu Rawash area in the north of Giza. His name was written inside a royal cartouche and was the first king to take the title of ‘Son of Re’ that is first attested under Djedefre.

The original crown prince, Kawab, who had married the heiress Hetepheres II, apparently predeceased his father. At Khufu’s death, Djedefre married Hetepheres II and became king; but since he came from a secondary branch of the royal family, he may have usurped the kingship.

At Abu Ruwaysh, north of Giza, Djedefre started a pyramid about the size of the pyramid of Menkaure, but it was never completed. Granite blocks of its casing have been found, together with the remains of a funerary temple with granite columns.

The king also worked the diorite quarries in Nubia (the modern Sudan) near Abu Simbel, where his name occurs. Djedefre seems to have ruled for just eight years and was succeeded on the throne by his brother.

Old Kingdom, 4th Dynasty, c. 2565-2558 B.C. Abu Rawash (site of Egypt’s most northern pyramid, Djedefre’s Pyramid). Musée du Louvre. E 12626