Black granite statue of King Sesostris III (One of Two) at The British Museum, London

This life-size statue of Senwosret III (1874-1855 BC) is one of three very similar statues in the British Museum collections excavated from the site of the funerary temple of King Nebhhepetre Mentuhotep II (2055-2004 BC), a predecessor of Senwosret. Senwosret restored and endowed this temple, which was the site of an important local annual festival. It is likely that the statues were dedicated out of respect for the earlier king and the festival. The statues, which show Senwosret in the attitude of prayer, standing with his hands flat on the front of his kilt, are the earliest examples of this devotional pose. In contrast with his youthful, muscular torso, the king's face is depicted with expressive furrows and lines. His large ears may symbolize the ruler's readiness to listen. This new style of representation, so different from the idealized portrayals of royalty in other periods, is characteristic of this reign. Contemporary poetry spoke of how the heaviest burden, that of rulership, lay on the king, and this powerfully modelled portrait seems to reflect that. The expressiveness of the portrait is royal rather than personal. One Egyptologist, T.G.H James, has described it as a 'portrait of responsible kingship'. This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.这座与实物等大的塞索斯特里斯三世（Senwosret III，公元前1874年—公元前1855年）雕像，为大英博物馆（British Museum）馆藏三尊形制极为相近的雕像之一，其出土于尼布赫佩特雷·孟图霍特普二世（Nebhhepetre Mentuhotep II，公元前2055年—公元前2004年）的丧葬神庙遗址——后者正是塞索斯特里斯三世的前代君主。塞索斯特里斯三世曾对这座丧葬神庙进行修复并予以捐赠，此处曾为当地重要年度节庆的举办场地。这批雕像大概率是为表达对前代君主与该节庆的敬意而敬献的。该组雕像以祈祷姿态呈现塞索斯特里斯三世：他双手平贴于裙袍前襟直立，是此类虔敬姿态的最早考古实例。与他年轻健硕的躯干形成鲜明反差的是，国王的面部布满富有表现力的皱纹与纹路。其宽大的双耳或许象征着君主乐于倾听臣民心声的姿态。这种全新的肖像表现风格，与其他时期理想化的王室肖像截然不同，是该统治时期极具标志性的艺术特征。同时代的诗歌曾记述，王权乃是压在君主身上最沉重的重担，而这座造型饱满有力的肖像仿佛正是对此的具象诠释。这座肖像的表现力彰显的是王室威仪而非私人特质。埃及学家T.G.H.詹姆斯曾将其描述为“肩负重任的君主统治之肖像”。本展品隶属于“扫描世界（Scan The World）”项目。“扫描世界”是由MyMiniFactory发起的非营利性公益计划，旨在打造全球范围内可完全3D打印的雕塑、艺术品与地标建筑的数字档案库，供公众免费获取。该项目为开源社区共建项目，若您身边有值得分享的藏品并希望参与贡献，可发送邮件至[e-mail]了解参与方式。