Middle Kingdom
Eleventh-Thirteenth Dynasty
(ca. 2040-1650 B.C.)

Nearly two hundred years after the collapse of the Old Kingdom and the ensuing economic and social turmoil, an Eleventh Dynasty king,
Mentuhotep II, reunited Egypt, initiating the Middle Kingdom.

To honor his great predecessor , the Twelfth Dynasty king Sesostris III erected figures of himself in Mentuhotep's funerary temple. Among the finest and best preserved of these, is the
Stabding Statue of Sesostris III.

Charged with ensuring order among all the inhabitants of the universe and with linking mortal and divine worlds, the Egyptian king was the most powerful person in ancient Egypt.

In the late Middle Kingdom, this responsibility had come to be seen as a tremendous burden. Whereas earlyer images of kings had appeared smiling and youthful, the furrowed, frowning face of Sesostris III is somber, even anguished. Thus, this statue is not only a portrait of Sesostris the individual, but also a reflection of a changed attitude toward kingship and of the somber outlook of a culture that seems to have lost faith in the goodness of people.

Several generations after the reign of the powerful Sesostris III, the Middle Kingdom disintegrated under a series of weak Thirteenth Dynasty kings, and Egypt came under the control of Middle Eastern rulers who had established a strong hold in the Nile Delta.

Compiled by Edna R. Russmann and Deborah Schwartz

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Standing statue of Sesostris III
From Thebes, Deir el Bahri, funerary
temple of Mentuhotep II.
Middle Kingdom, Twelfth Dynasty, reign of
Sesostris II (ca. 1874-1855 B.C.)
Granite, 56 inches.

[This message was edited by Inda on Monday March 8th, 2004 at 06:04 PM.]

Middle Kingdom
Funerary mask of a lady with the attributes of Isis
Sarcophagus cover.
Twelfth Dynasty (ca. 1991-1786 B.C.)
Mixture of plater and hemp,
gilded and painted, 18 1/4 inches high.

[This message was edited by Inda on Monday March 8th, 2004 at 06:06 PM.]

Thank you for sharing this intertesting summary of Egyptian history with us. The exhibition is wonderful.

Gisele

Thank you for posting this information and the images.
This is a great collection.

Sue

Thank you for this series of posts. This is very educational material and I am going to print it all out so I can share it with my family.

Vicky