Statue Base of Amenmessu

M13510

Information

Limestone statue base from the reign of King Amenmessu (1203 BC - 1200 BC). Around the four sides of the block ran a symmetrical horizontal text, twice giving Amenmesse's names and titles, the signs filled with blue pigment. A further set of titles and cartouches were carved into the top surface of the object, in front of the statue-depression. The object was apparently found in Luxor Temple. It was described by August Eisenlohr, who noted the two prenomen erasures, but made no other comment, apparently believing both to have originally held the name of Amenmesse. However, in 1905, William Petrie noted that the piece "was orginally inscribed for Sety II across the front", a verdict shared by Bryan Emery. Neither published a copy of the palimpsest cartouches, but one exists on the museum's catalogue card, drawn by Percy Newberry and Eric Peet. The statue base was destroyed in the Second World War.