Head of Amenhotep III Wearing the Blue Crown
During the long, peaceful reign of Amenhotep III, Egypt reached a pinnacle of wealth and splendor. This magnificent portrait captures the ruler's exotic features to perfection. He has large, almond-shaped eyes, elegant arched eyebrows, and a full mouth. His face is youthful and without blemish. The bone structure is lost in the fleshy fullness of the face. The contrast between polished and roughened surfaces is a hallmark of hard stone images of Amenhotep III. The flesh areas were smoothed to a glistening sheen, while the eyeballs and the crown were left rougher. The roughening of the crown...
Details
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- granodiorite
- Dimensions
- overall: height 0.391 m, width 0.303 m, depth 0.277 m
- Department
- Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Gift of the Hanna Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
11 tags
Subject Matter
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Portrait Both · 99%
The title identifies the sitter as Amenhotep III, and the image presents a single concentrated likeness of a human face.
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Individual Portrait Both · 98%
This is a portrait of one identifiable ruler rather than a group or anonymous figure.
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Face Visual · 99%
The composition is dominated by a frontal human face, with emphasis on the eyes, brows, nose, mouth, and cheeks.
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Royalty and Aristocracy Metadata · 99%
The museum identifies the sitter as Amenhotep III, the Egyptian ruler named in the title.
Visual Qualities
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Smooth Surface Both · 95%
Facial planes appear more smoothly finished and reflective than much of the surrounding surface; the museum specifically describes the flesh areas as polished to a glistening sheen.
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Rough Both · 95%
The crown and portions of the face visibly retain coarse, granular texture, consistent with the museum’s description of roughened crown and eyeball surfaces.
Medium and Techniques
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Sculpture Metadata · 99%
The museum classifies the object as Sculpture, and the image clearly shows a carved three-dimensional head.
Time Periods
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Ancient Art Metadata · 99%
The work is dated c. 1391–1353 BCE, placing it within the catalog’s Ancient Art period.
Geographic Regions
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Egyptian Art Metadata · 99%
The recorded place of origin is Egypt, and the object is cataloged in the Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art department.
Materials
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Stone Metadata · 99%
The recorded medium is granodiorite, a type of stone.
Cultural and Religious Styles
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Ancient Egypt Metadata · 99%
The museum identifies the object as Egyptian, from the New Kingdom and Dynasty 18, during the reign of Amenhotep III.
Source & rights
Unknown artist. Head of Amenhotep III Wearing the Blue Crown. Cleveland Museum of Art.