Louvre

God Amun protects Tutankhamen

In this great statue, we can see Amun who protects Tutankhamun who is at his feet. The king, standing, adorned with the skin of a feline, is in the same orientation as his divine protector, of whom he is the chief official in the temple. Amon wears his traditional headdress dominated by two tall vertical feathers. The braided beard of the gods adorns his chin.

Tutankhamun has always been a mysterious character in Egyptian history, as there is little data on his reign. Being a young pharaoh, he was taken by the hand by the traditionalist clergy who forced him to restore the pre-eminence of Thebes and the worship of the god Amun. This statue is part of a series of monuments that confirm the consolidation of the bonds between Amun and the king.

In this statue, the sovereign wears the costume of the priests of Amun, a waist belt and feline skin on the left shoulder. He wears sandals and adorned with a big neck. Certainly, the characteristics of the king are not preserved, but those of the god are the exact reflection: the soft, feminized face characterizes, in general, the portraits of this dynasty. The almond-shaped eyes, the slightly protruding chin and the fleshy mouth correspond exactly to the features of Tutankhamun's face, as they are known elsewhere.