By Jacqueline Engel
These two figures, each wearing a heavy, braided wig and a broad beard with parallel stripes, bear offerings of fish, birds and aquatic plants.
They represent the pharaoh Amenemhat III in the form of the Nile god Hapi, bringer of food and life. The statue associates the reigning King with fertility and abundance.
12th Dynasty, reign of Amenemhat III (about 1859-1813 BC: reused in the 21st Dynasty in the reign of Psusennes (about 1039-991 BC) Tanis/San el Hagar.
The inscriptions engraved on front and back were added later, in the time of Psusennes I.
In the 21st Dynasty, Psusennes I had the monument transported to Tanis, his new capital and the burial place of the kings of that period.
Grey granite JE 18221 – Egyptian Museum Cairo
LA CIVILTA' EGIZIA 