Skip to main content

Primary sourceSculpturec. 1466 BCE

Seated Statue of Hatshepsut

c. 1466 BCE

A limestone statue showing Hatshepsut seated in royal regalia, blending kingly symbols with feminine features.

This statue portrays Hatshepsut herself, showing how she was depicted as a legitimate pharaoh despite being a woman.

Ask Hatshepsut about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Photograph of a seated limestone statue of a figure wearing a royal headcloth with a pleated nemes and a false beard-less face, hands resting on the lap, seated on a block with hieroglyphic inscriptions on its side.
Seated Statue of Hatshepsut, c. 1466 BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this source

What it is

This limestone statue depicts Hatshepsut seated, wearing the royal headcloth associated with pharaohs. It dates to around 1466 BCE and is held today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Why it matters

The statue shows Hatshepsut dressed in the regalia of a king, yet with a body and inscriptions that reflect her identity as a woman. It reveals the challenge Egyptian artists faced in portraying a female ruler within a tradition built around male kingship.

Look closer

  • What symbols of kingship can you spot on the statue?
  • How does the body or face differ from typical statues of male pharaohs?
  • Why might the artists have mixed male and female elements together?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hatshepsut on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Hatshepsut sources

Meet the AI Hatshepsut →
View of the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, a tiered stone building with long colonnades and ramps set against towering tan limestone cliffs under a clear blue sky. Small figures and a low shelter are visible in the foreground.Artifact

Primary source

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

Senenmut and/or Hapuseneb (attributed) · c. 1479–1458 BCE

Photograph of a carved sandstone relief panel at Karnak. Columns of hieroglyphs divide the panel. On the left, a figure in a tall crown strides with one arm raised. On the right, a standing figure in a kilt faces left. Blue sky and a palm tree appear at the edge.Photograph

Secondary source

Hatshepsut Dancing Before Min, Karnak Relief

Carole Reeves · 1989

Painted relief on a temple wall showing men carrying a tree in a basket with a pole, between stylized incense trees and a palm, in orange, red and cream colors, with hieroglyphs above and a wave-pattern band below.Sculpture

Primary source

Punt Expedition Reliefs

Royal workshops of Hatshepsut · c. 1470 BCE

Photograph of a dark grey stone sculpture of a head, mounted on a red rectangular pedestal against a white background. The head has a tall, smooth-topped headdress, carved eyes, nose and mouth, and a worn surface. Catalogue label MM 11423 appears at lower right.Sculpture

Primary source

Sculpture Head Probably of Hatshepsut

A tall, slender tapering stone obelisk with a pyramidion tip stands among ruined sandstone blocks under a clear blue sky. Carved hieroglyphic inscriptions run vertically down its face. Fallen and stacked stone fragments surround it.Artifact

Primary source

Obelisk of Hatshepsut

c. 1500 BCE

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Hatshepsut now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions