The head of a pharaonic limestone statue was offered for 20 thousand pounds at an international auction

Sotheby's International Auctions in London is preparing to display the limestone head of an Egyptian king dating back to the Pharaonic eras, Dynasty 18/19, 1540-1190 BC, on July 5, in an auction titled "Antiques" that includes a large number of pieces. Ancient Egyptian and Roman Antiquities.

The value of the statue’s head ranges between 15 to 20 thousand pounds, and Sotheby’s said about the head of the statue as follows: “The cream-colored stone from which this head was carved was particularly preferred by King Amenhotep III. Helping add a nose, the apparent addition of other royal fittings was suggested by the many narrow carved recesses on the sides and back of the head, and recesses carved into the corners of the lips visually helped transform what was originally a wider mouth into a smaller mouth favored by King Ramses II.

There are many examples of images of Amenhotep reused in important collections, including the statues of Amenhotep III that Ramses II restored in the Louvre.