Head of Tutankhamun

Illustration

by Nicole Lesar
published on 25 June 2021

The Head of Tutankhamun was once part of a larger statue depicting Tutankhamun (r. c.1336-c.1327 BCE) and the god Amun. This limestone statue was fashioned during Tutankhamun’s reign (Egypt’s 18th Dynasty). This statue is significant because it shows that Tutankhamun restored Egypt’s old religion. Tutankhamun’s father, Akhenaten abolished Egypt’s polytheistic religion in favor of the monotheistic worship of the Aten. This change caused an uproar in Egypt and the massive religious and social fallout was felt throughout the remainder of the 18th Dynasty.

The hand that can be seen on the back of Tutankhamun’s head is the hand of the god Amun. Since Amun (the King of the Gods) is touching Tutankhamun’s crown, it can be interpreted that Amun approved of Tutankhamun’s reign. Tutankhamun is wearing the blue *khepresh* crown which is associated with coronation, the right to rule, and victory. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

About the Author

Nicole is an Earth/Environmental Scientist, who is currently teaching science to middle and high school students. She has a passion for ancient history, particularly ancient Egypt, due to the teachings of her Nonno (grandfather).

License & Copyright

Uploaded by Nicole Lesar, published on 25 June 2021. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Lesar, N. (2021, June 25). Head of Tutankhamun. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14339/head-of-tutankhamun/

Chicago Style

Lesar, Nicole. "Head of Tutankhamun." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified June 25, 2021. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14339/head-of-tutankhamun/.

MLA Style

Lesar, Nicole. "Head of Tutankhamun." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 25 Jun 2021. Web. 19 Apr 2024.