Seated Statue of Senusret I

This statue is one of ten, made out of white limestone, depicting King Senusret I seated on his throne wearing the nemes headdress decorated with the uraeus or rearing cobra. The statues differ slightly from one another and bear the harmonious features of a young man with a serene expression.

The most remarkable thing about these statues is the decoration on the sides of the thrones showing the theme of the unification of the Two Lands, which was associated with the Nile god, Hapi.

On five of the statues, The Nile god Hapi was replaced by Horus and Seth. Furthermore, we have here one of the rare cases in which the image of Seth, god of confusion, power and desert, was not destroyed through the superstition of later generations.

The ‘seated statue’ is a typology of statue that dates back to the earliest periods of the Egyptian civilization and remains one of the most widespread statuary forms until the Greco-Roman Period. It was frequently adopted by private individuals but even more so by the royal family.