Egyptian. <em>Head of a Kushite Ruler</em>, ca. 670–653 B.C.E. Diorite, 3 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 5 5/8 in. (8.6 x 7 x 14.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.316. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.05.316_NegA_print_bw.jpg)

Egyptian. Head of a Kushite Ruler, ca. 670–653 B.C.E. Diorite, 3 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 5 5/8 in. (8.6 x 7 x 14.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.316. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.05.316_NegA_print_bw.jpg)

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Head of a Kushite Ruler

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

Art historians assign this head to the very end of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. It may represent the ultimate Kushite king, Tanwetamani (circa 664–653 B.C.), who was defeated by the Assyrian army that invaded Egypt and sacked the capital city of Thebes. After Tanwetamani's defeat, descendants of the Kushite royal house continued to rule Nubia from the area around Napata until the first quarter of the third century B.C.

CULTURES Egyptian; Nubian; Kushite

MEDIUM Diorite

DATES ca. 670–653 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 25

PERIOD Third Intermediate Period

DIMENSIONS 3 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 5 5/8 in. (8.6 x 7 x 14.3 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 05.316

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented; by 1905, acquired by Maurice Nahman of Cairo, Egypt; 1905, purchased in Cairo from Maurice Nahman by W. M. Flinders Petrie for the Brooklyn Museum.

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CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Fragmentary head of a Kushite king in green basalt (?). Beard almost entirely gone. Left chin and cheek badly chipped, as is nose. The fragment is of exceptional quality and in spite of the very hard stone, the face is modelled with extraordinary detail. Condition: Head preserved from just above the eyes down to base of neck.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view on the 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Egyptian. Head of a Kushite Ruler, ca. 670–653 B.C.E. Diorite, 3 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 5 5/8 in. (8.6 x 7 x 14.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.316. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.05.316_NegA_print_bw.jpg)

IMAGE profile, CUR.05.316_NegA_print_bw.jpg., 2016

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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