Description

This statue represents the so-called “Qen-Amun” offering a stele which he supports by his arms. The upper part of the stele is shaped like a cornice, decorated with parallel vertical lines, while the lowest part of it, is carved in the form of a small offering table decorated with various kinds of bread. The stele bears six vertical lines of the Hetep di nesw (a boon given by the king) offering formula dedicated to six different gods; namely Anubis, Osiris, Amun, Atum, Ptah-Sokaris and Thoth.
On the right and left sides of the stele, runs down one vertical line of hieroglyphic inscription mentioning the name of King Thutmose III (1479–1425 BCE). At the end of each line appears the name of Qen-Amun as the offeror of the offering formula.
Thanks to three of the eight titles of Qen-Amun engraved on this statue, we can identify the owner, almost evidently, as Qen-Amun, the owner of the tomb no. TT 93 at Sheikh Abd el-Gurna (on the West Bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor) who lived under Amenhotep II and probably also under his father Thutmose III.

Qen-Amun

Qen-Amun was the Chief Steward of Amenhotep II, which is the most important office at the royal court after the Vizier and Treasurer. He was described as the foster-brother of the king, most probably Amenhotep II. Qen-Amun’s mother, Amenemopet, was the king’s wet nurse, and the boys would therefore in all probability have been brought up together. Qen-Amun bears about 150 titles, known from his monuments. On the statue we have here, we can read some titles, such as The Wab Priest of Amun, The Overseer of the Granaries, The Mayor of Memphis, and The Truthful One of the Lord of the Two Lands.

Stelophorous Statues

This type of statues, limited to male private individuals, appeared under the 18th Dynasty (1550–1295 BCE). It portrays a kneeling figure with his head raised, placing both hands in a prayer position on a stele-like stone slab inscribed with a hymn to the sun-god. It emerged as a result of the growing influence of solar belief this period.
Early examples at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty depict the worshiper without a stele, but rather with a shortened text on the filling between the raised arms, as well as on the kilt. From this filling, the stele-like stone slab developed. The stele was initially placed on the praying person’s knees, and later on the ground in front of worshiper. The latter type became common under Amenhotep III and the early Ramesside period, and was attested until the Late Period.
 

• Abu Elyon Barakat, “A New Statue of Ken-Amun”, Études et Travaux 12 (1983): 85-91.
• Christine Meyer, “Stelophor”, in Lexikon der Ägyptologie, edited by Wolfgang Helck and Eberhard Otto, vol. 6 (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1986): 8-9.
• Jean Leclant, “Fouilles et Travaux en Égypte et au Soudan, 1970-1971”, Orientalia 41, no. 2 (1972): 265.
• Michael Rice, Who's Who in Ancient Egypt (London: Routledge, 2002): 91.