Triad of Ramesses II

Pink granite triad statue depicting king Ramesses II seated between the god Amun and the goddess Mut represented with the attributes of the goddess Hathor.

The king, at the center of the divine embrace, replaces the son of the two gods, Khonsu, to form the Theban triad.

Both deities were considered protectors and guarantors for the kings of the New Kingdom. Ramesses II wears the atef or bundle crown over the nemes headdress with the sun disc over the Amun ram’s horns and above it the Maat feathers, the symbol for truth and justice.

In ancient Egyptian the verb “to embrace” was “sxn”, but it could also be translated as “to seek”.

Ramesses II, also called Ramesses the Great. Along with Thutmose III, he is one of the most important kings of Egypt. This monumental sculpture shows Ramesses II between Amun, the god of wind and fertility, and the goddess Mut, Amun’s companion.

New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, reign of Ramesses II, ca. 1279-1213 BC. Dimensions: 170 x 113.5 x 94 cm. Made of granite. From the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Drovetti collection (1824). Now in the Egyptian Museum of Turin. C. 767