Head and upper torso of Seti I
Egyptian, New Kingdom (1559–1085 B.C.), 19th Dynasty
Black granite
15 x 11 25/32 x 7 11/32 in. (38.1 x 29.92 x 18.65 cm)
Purchased in honor of Betty B. Marcus with the Art Museum League Funds, the Melba Davis Whatley Fund, and the General Acquisitions Fund, 1984.50

This superb sculpture is a rare portrait of one of the great kings of Egyptian history. Seti I was the first important pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty. Following the upheavals caused by Akhenatens religious revolution in the late 18th Dynasty, Seti established a firm military control over all of Egypt and led its armies to conquest in Palestine. He set the pattern for an aggressive Egyptian rule that reached its climax under the long reign of his son Ramses II.

Relief portraits of Seti I occur at Abydos, Karnak, and in his tomb in the necropolis at Thebes, but this is one of the few three-dimensional portraits of him. It adheres to the classical Egyptian conventions of royal art, showing the king as a vital, muscular man dressed in the ruler’s nemes headcloth and false beard. Supporting the back of the bust is the king’s cartouche with his regal names. The boldly plastic modeling of the figure indicates the king’s divine majesty and his role as a bringer of prosperity to his people. The columnar neck, lifted chin, and gripping gaze of the eyes give the portrait a remarkable sense of living force, thereby equating Seti with Osiris, the undying lord of the afterworld. Since Egyptian rulers belonged to the realm of the gods, they were represented as eternally strong and youthful.

Seti I’s rule initiated a revival of Egyptian splendor. Art under Seti emphasized a grandiose monumentality without sacrificing the courtly elegance so notable under the kings of the 18th Dynasty. This portrait bust expresses this union of dynamic power and suave line.