Senwosret III

     The sculptures shown in the previous post are not the only examples of royal art from the Middle Kingdom that show the pharaoh as careworn. The example here is now in the Metropolitan Museum. It is carved from quartzite and is highly expressive despite its damaged state.

     Senwosret III is here shown with heavy-lidded eyes and a downturned, almost sad looking mouth. The eye brows are heavy and creased just above the nose.

     There is a great deal of speculation as to why the Middle Kingdom kings were shown with such expressive faces. In both the Old and New Kingdoms, the Pharaoh is almost always shown as eternally youthful and with an expression of serene confidence, but not so in the Middle Kingdom. Did the Pharaohs of the Middle kingdom remember the hard times of the First Intermediate Period and foresee to oncoming difficulties of the Second Intermediate Period? Or are modern scholars reading way to much into this art style? It is hard to say, but it does create lively conversations among art historians.