Statue of Queen Iset

The Queen Iset or Isis, was the mother of King Thutmose III, second great royal wife of King Thutmose II. The Queen wears a large wig, with two uraeus at the forehead, the left one wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt and the right one wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt.

The base of a crown can be seen on top of her wig, it is covered in gold leaf and once held two large plumes. Iset is known to have held the titles King’s Mother (mwt-nswt), King’s Wife (ḥmt-nswt), King’s Great Wife (ḥmt-nswt-wrt) and God’s Wife (ḥmt-nṯr). All probably posthumously.

Queen Iset’s name is mentioned on her son Thutmose III’s mummy bandages and on a statue found in Karnak. Her son Thutmose III depicts his mother several times in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

In KV34 there are depictions of the king with several female family members on one of the pillars. His mother Queen Isis is prominently featured. Iset is prominently featured behind her son on a barque.

All these later instances refer to her as Great Royal Wife and King’s Mother.

New Kingdom, mid 18th Dynasty, reign of Thutmose III, ca. 1479-1425 BC. Black granite with gold leaf. From Karnak Cachette. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 37417; CG 42072