The Young King Amen-em-hat III

The Black Head of a King demonstrates what Egyptian artists were capable of achieving at their best. The head has been broken off a statue representing the pharaoh Amen-em-hat III (1842-1795 BC). The ancient Egyptians tended to represent their kings as gods, but in Amen-em-hat’s time the human personality was allowed to come through. What we see here may be one of the world’s first portraits.