This elegant quartzite head wearing the Blue Crown originally belonged with the body of a statue that still stands in the great Hypostyle Hall of the Temple of Amun at Karnak; the inscriptions show that it had been carved for the short rule of King Amenmesse. Following Merenptah, Amenmesse had apparently seized the throne from the rightful heir, Seti II who was subsequently able to retake the throne. Later, he reinscribed this statue, like most of the others carved for Amenmesse, with his own na
