Stela of Amenhotep III

Sandstone

Sedeinga, sector II of the Great Necropolis. Tomb II T77 and d2

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty (1390-1352 BC)

Sudan National Museum, Khartoum -- NM 31216

Upper section of the lunette of a stela reused in the construction of a Meroitic tomb in the Sedeinga Cemetery, but undoubtedly originally from the nearby Temple of Queen Tiye. Under the protective wings of Horus of Behedet. Pharaoh Amenhotep III (Tiye being his Great Royal Wife), wearing the white crown, offers incense to Amun of Soleb and his own deified image. As such, he is depicted with the headdress associated with Khonsu, the child god - the disc mounted on a crescent moon. A ram's horn also curves around his ear, underlining his relationship with Amun. the ram god par excellence 'who resides in Soleb'. The links between the temples of Sedeinga and Soleb are thus emphasized.

The king's nomen was carefully scratched out and changed to Neb-Maat-Re, his prenomen. Similarly, the depiction of the god Amun and the two columns of hieroglyphs concerning him (located in front of him) were erased during the Amarna period (1352-1336 BC), but carved anew as early as the reign of Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BC), thus proving that the temple was still in use even after its founders had passed on.

Reference:

Africa in Antiquity: The Arts of Ancient Nubia and the Sudan, Steffen Wenig, Brooklyn Museum, p. 107 (1978)