Head of Hatshepsut or Thutmose III
Black Granite, New Kingdom, Dyn. 18, ca 1479-1425 B.C.E.
Provenance not known
Brooklyn #55.118, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Photo © Joan Ann Lansberry, May 2008-2016

"If the name on a statue is no longer preserved, archaeologists rely on stylistic analysis to identify its subject. Though this head has often been called Thutmose III, recent research suggests that it actually represents the female pharaoh Hatshepsut. The male ruler Thutmose was usually depicted with a rounder, more delicate face. "The feather pattern visible at the back of the head shows that the original statue depicted its subject with the plumage and wings of the falcon god Horus, symbolizing kingship." (From the info card.)