By Jacqueline Engel
This head comes from one of the twenty-four colossal Osiris statues that decorate the portico of the third terrace of her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahari.
Hatshepsut was the sister-wife of Thutmosis II and became the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty.
The queen is portrayed as Osiris with male attributes like the ceremonial beard and depicted with reddish-brown skin, a colour usually restricted to men in ancient Egyptian art, in contrast to the pale yellowish colour reserved for women.
New Kingdom
Dynasty 18, reign of Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BC)
Height: 61 cm, Width: 55 cm
Painted Limestone
Place of discovery: Thebes, Deir el-Bahari, Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
Egyptian Museum Cairo
LA CIVILTA' EGIZIA 