him to be 'original'. On the contrary, he was probably considered the best artist who could make his statues most like the admired monuments of the past (E. H. Gombrich, 1951, p. 253).
The life-sized statue depicting Hatshepsut was carved from red granite. It is 167 centimeters (or 65 + inches) in height. The statue was destroyed in about 1460 B.C.E, and was found in numerous fragments. The torso was located almost fifty years prior to the unearthing of the other pieces, and the entire sculpture was not reassembled for many decades. The site of the temple at Deir el-Bahri offered a wealth of ruined depictions from the reign of Hatshepsut, whose controversial usurpation of the throne caused her successors to attempt to obliterate all traces of her name and image from history.
Seated statues portray prestige in ancient Egyptian art. Only royalty and nobles could afford furniture.
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