Red Granite Lions of Amenhotep III

This magnificent red-granite lion, carved in the reign of Amenhotep III, shows the animal in a graceful recumbent pose, forepaws crossed and tail curled neatly around the rump. Its modelling is a masterful blend of stylised elegance and striking naturalism: a circular mane frames the head; raised fur textures mark the chest and shoulders; the muzzle is powerfully shaped with veins, whiskers, and inlaid eye sockets; and the twisted hind paws add lifelike anatomical tension.

Originally set up at Soleb, the lion later travelled to Gebel Barkal, gathering inscriptions from successive rulers. A four-column text (possibly of Akhenaten) was added to the chest, proclaiming the lion as the king’s fierce guardian. Tutankhamun later reinscribed the base to record his renewal of the monument for Amenhotep III.

In the Meroitic period, King Amanislo added his cartouches to the left forepaw, replacing some of Tutankhamun’s erased names, leaving only traces of “Amun”.

Carved from a single block of granite, the lion measures c. 115 cm high and 216 cm long, weighing approximately 2.5 tonnes. Its companion piece (EA 1) preserves Amenhotep III’s original inscription referring to the Temple of Soleb.

Together, the pair stands as a testament to the sculpture, reuse, and political afterlives of royal monuments from Egypt to Nubia.

Summary:

Red Granite Recumbent Lion of Amenhotep III (one of two, known as the Prudhoe Lions)

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1391-1353 B.C.

Originally from Soleb; later usurped and discovered at Jebel Barkal, Sudan

British Museum. EA1&2