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Jul 5, 2007

Head of Amenhotep III Wearing the Blue Crown

c. 1391–1353 BC

Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III

Granodiorite

Overall: 39.1 x 30.3 x 27.7 cm (15 3/8 x 11 15/16 x 10 7/8 in.)

Gift of the Hanna Fund 1952.513

Location

107 Egyptian

Did you know?

The Blue Crown or Khepresh was worn by New Kingdom Pharaohs into battle as well as in ceremonies.

Description

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 also had a practical purpose, for the upper portion was originally painted blue and the browband was painted yellow. The paint would have adhered better to the unpolished surface.

Provenance

-1952

Milton Girod, Chahaignes, France, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1952-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Oh

Citations

Vandier, Jacques. Manuel d'archéologie égyptienne. Paris: A. et J. Picard, 1952. p. 318, 327; pl. CV, 5

Lee, Sherman E. "A Royal Portrait of Amenhotep III." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 40, no. 8 (1953) Mentioned: pp. 178-182; reproduced: p. 185, cover www.jstor.org

"Art and Archaeology at the Cleveland Museum of Art." Archaeology 6, no. 4 (1953) pp. 195-202. Reproduced and mentioned: p. 195 www.jstor.org

Sale Art 10 (January-February 1954) p. 78

“Year’s Best: 1953.” ARTnews 52 (February 1954): p. 48. Mentioned: p. 48

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and reproduced: cat. no. 5 archive.org

Cleveland Museum of Art. In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Cleveland: The Museum, 1958. Reproduced and mentioned: cat. 217 archive.org

Cleveland Museum of Art, and William Mathewson Milliken. The Cleveland Museum of Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1958. p. 12

Cleveland Museum of Art, and Martha L. Carter. Egyptian Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: The Museum, 1963. p. 7, pl. 8 archive.org

Sherman E. Lee. "The Art Museum and Antiquity" Apollo 77, no. 22 (December 1963) p. 435, fig. 1

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 3 archive.org

Cleveland Museum of Art. Selected Works: Cleveland Museum of Art. 1967. pl. 2

Christensen, Erwin O. A Guide to Art Museums in the United States. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1968. p. 168, fig. 353

Cooney, John D. "Amarna Art in the Cleveland Museum." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 55, no. 1 (1968) p. 4, fig. 2 www.jstor.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 3 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 14 archive.org

Johnson, Mark M. "An Introduction to the Art of Egypt" Arts and Activities 83, no. 2 (March 1978) Reproduced and mentioned: p. 38, fig. 7

Silver, Adele Z. The Cleveland Museum of Art Guide to the Galleries. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. p. 9, fig. 8

Cleveland Museum of Art, and Arielle P. Kozloff. An Introduction to the Art of Egypt in the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar]: [Verlag nicht ermittelbar], 1983. p. 9

Müller, Maya. Die Kunst Amenophis' III. und Echnatons. Basel: Verlag für Ägyptologie, 1988. p. IV-9

Vandersleyen, Claude. "Les Deux Jeunesses d'Amenhotep III" Bulletin de la Société française d'égyptologie (BSFE) 111 (1988) p. 23, fig. 14

Berman, Lawrence Michael. The Art of Amenhotep III: Art Historical Analysis : Papers Presented at the International Symposium Held at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 20-21 November 1987. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1990. pl. 22, fig. 14

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 4 archive.org

Kozloff, Arielle P., Betsy Morrell Bryan, Lawrence Michael Berman, and Elisabeth Delange. Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1992. Cat. No. 11, Cover and pl. 12

KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt. 3, no. 2 (Summer 1992) p. 1, 14

Kozloff, Arielle P. and Betsy M. Bryan. "Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World" Minerva 3, no. 4 (July/August 1992) p. 21, fig. 2

Schaire, Jeffrey, "Amenhotep," Arts and Antiques 9, no. 7 (September 1992) p. 46, cover

Delange, E. "Egypt's Dazzling Sun, Amenhotep III and His World Cleveland" Bulletin de la Société française d'égyptologie (BSFE) 125 (October 1992). p. 34, fig. 4

David, Elizabeth. "D'un Régne l'Autre," Connaissance des Arts, special issue 36 (1993) p. 8, fig. 6

Delange, Elizabeth, "Aménophis III Redécou-Vert," Connaissance des Arts 493 (March 1993) p. 41

"Exhibition of the Year," Apollo 139, no. 382 (December 1993) p. 348

Berman, Lawrence Michael, and Bernadette Letellier. Pharaohs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from the Louvre. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Oxford University Press, 1996. p. 57

Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Mentioned: p. 222-224; Reproduced: p. 222-223, Color: p. 52

Hornung, Erik. History of Ancient Egypt: An Introduction. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1999. p. 95, cat. no. 30

Slattery, Tom. The Tragic End of the Bronze Age: A Virus Makes History. San Jose: Writers Club Press, 2000. p. 125, fig. 7

Hornung, Erik, and Betsy Morrell Bryan. The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2002. p. 63, Fig. 12

Bothmer, Bernard V., Madeleine E. Cody, Paul Edmund Stanwick, and Marsha Hill. Egyptian Art: Selected Writings of Bernard V. Bothmer. 2004. p. 450, Fig. 29.14

Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 73

Vandenbeusch, Marie, Aude Semat, and Margaret Maitland. Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art ; London : The British Museum, 2016. Mentioned pp. 58, 153; reproduced p. 59, fig. 14

Exhibition history

Pharaohs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from the Louvre. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Oh (11 Feb. 1996 - 14 April 1996).

Expostion Akhenaton. Musée d'art et d'histoire de la Ville de la Genève, Switzerland (10/16/2008 - 2/1/2009); Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, Italy (2/26/2009 - 6/14/2009).

In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958).

Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).

Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 1-September 27, 1992); Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (October 24, 1992-January 31, 1993); Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 75008 Paris, France (March 2-May 31, 1993).

Exposition Akhénaton. Musée d'art et d'histoire, Genéve 3, Switzerland (organizer) (October 16, 2008-February 1, 2009); Fondazione Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, Italy (February 26-June 14, 2009).

Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 13-June 12, 2016).

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{{cite web|title=Head of Amenhotep III Wearing the Blue Crown|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.513|year=c. 1391–1353 BC|access-date=02 November 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Head of Amenhotep III Wearing the Blue Crown

Head of Amenhotep III Wearing the Blue Crown

Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III

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