Head of Tutankhamun

This indurated limestone head of Tutankhamun, shows the youthful king wearing the khepresh crown, with a cobra uraeus. Upon first glance you may miss it, but what is fascinating is the hand of Amun, sanctifying Tutankhamun.

Although statues of Egyptian rulers with deities were common practice, this piece, depicting Tutankhamun with Amun, showcases the rapid change which occurred during the Boy King’s reign. After the turmoil of the Amarna Period had come to a close, it was up to Tutankhamun and his priesthood to get Egypt back on its feet. Born Tut-Ankh-Aten, the Boy King had gone under a name change to signify his loyalty to the god Amun, and would forever be remembered by his name change, Tut-Ankh-Amun.

Sadly now just a fragment, this head of Tutankhamun would have been a part of a group statue, depicting Tutankhamun alongside specific deities. Likely, the god figure (almost certainly Amun) would have been seated on a throne, as the Boy King stood before him. From the remnants of the piece, we can tell Tutankhamun would have been of a smaller scale to Amun. Similar statues, such as the later king Horemheb with Amun, may give us an indication into how this piece may have once originally looked.

Amun’s hand hovers over the back of Tutankhamun’s head, almost “blessing” his crown. It is thought that during Coronations, the king would have the various crowns of Egypt placed upon his head, thus this piece may have been made to celebrate the king’s coronation. Here, Tutankhamun is wearing the khepresh, otherwise known as “the blue crown of war“.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where this piece now resides, recently created a cast of this head of Tutankhamun, and a scholar suggests it is a match to “the remains of an indurated limestone seated statue of a god in the storerooms at Karnak in Thebes.” The un-named scholar added that despite the join being minimal, she considers her results conclusive. Thus, the Met Museum, now officially confirms that the head was indeed from Karnak Temple. And that Tutankhamun was standing in front of Amun who bestowed his grace upon the boy king.

This return to Thebes would have been a huge sigh of relief for the Egyptian priesthood at the time. Although, it is suggested that the priesthood or perhaps relatives, viceroys or others, would have held the reins when it came to Tutankhamun’s early years on the throne and in turn made these decisions for the Boy King. And with Tutankhamun being only 9 years old when he became king, this would not be hard to believe. But unfortunately, it would be impossible to know what the young king thought of the changes he lived through. All we can put together from evidence is that, Tutankhamun grew up during the so called “Atenism” experiment, and so perhaps taking the throne and having to alter his entire tradition must have been strange. But who can say? Sadly, it’s all just romantic conjecture, but very interesting to think about no less.

Alas, all we can certify is, that the return to Thebes would have signified Tutankhamun’s loyalty to Amun, the God who the Boy King is depicted with in this piece, as Amun held the title, “Ruler of Thebes”. The traditional Egyptian pantheon was back, and this piece was letting the world know.

Summary:
Head of Tutankhamun, with Amun’s hand sanctifying the Boy King
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1336–1327 B.C.
Karnak Temple, Thebes.
Met Museum. 50.6