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Primary sourceSculptureca. 1473–1458 BCE

Statue Base of Hatshepsut

ca. 1473–1458 BCE

A limestone statue base from Hatshepsut's court, carved with her cartouche and a royal profile, dating to her joint reign with Thutmose III.

This statue base was commissioned during Hatshepsut's reign and carries her royal cartouche and image.

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Photo of a carved limestone relief fragment on a gray background. It shows a cartouche with a hieroglyphic sign of a sun disk and a small standing figure, and beside it a right-facing profile of a figure wearing a close-fitting headdress with a uraeus cobra, with a broad collar and shoulder. The stone has weathered, uneven edges.
Statue base of Hatshepsut, limestone, ca. 1473–1458 BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this source

What it is

This is a carved limestone statue base from the New Kingdom, made during the joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III. It shows a cartouche with hieroglyphs and a carved royal profile wearing a headdress with a uraeus and a broad collar. It is now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Why it matters

Statue bases like this one were part of the furnishings of royal courts and temples, carrying the names and images of rulers. Its connection to Hatshepsut's reign shows how her name and image were spread through official art during a period when she shared power with the young Thutmose III.

Look closer

  • What details in the carving show that this belonged to royalty?
  • Why might rulers want their names carved into stone objects like this?
  • What is missing from this fragment that might help us understand it better?

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.

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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

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.Sculpture

Primary source

Seated Statue of Hatshepsut

c. 1466 BCE

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