Kneeling Statue of Senenmut

Kneeling Statue of Senenmut
Egypt
from Armant.
New Kingdom
Dynasty 18
joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III
1478–1458 B.C.E
Granite
189⁄16 x 67⁄8 in
(47.2 × 17.4 cm)
base: 63⁄4 x 215⁄16 x 119⁄16 in
(17.2 × 7.5 × 29.3 cm)
Occasionally an innovative artist enhanced a traditional sculptural form. This statue of Senenmut—an important official during the joint reign of Queen Hatshepsut and King Thutmose III—appears in the classic kneeling pose known since the Fourth Dynasty (circa 2625–2500 B.C.E.). Old and Middle Kingdom kneeling statues show a subject with his hands resting on his thighs or holding a pair of tiny round vessels. The sculptor of this piece, however, depicted Senenmut presenting a complex object: a cobra resting in a pair of upraised arms, wearing cow horns with a sun-disk. Egyptologists interpret this image as a cryptogram of Hatshepsut’s throne name (Ma`at-ka-re).

The sculptural form of a kneeling man holding an intricate symbolic image first appeared in statues of Senenmut and continued for hundreds of years. Perhaps this new type of statue was the product of Senenmut’s imagination, as interpreted by a skilled and receptive artist.