Block statue of Ankhrenepnefer, disc on the head

European Museums, The British Museum

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Head of the block statue of Ankhrenepnefer

Block statue of Ankhrenepnefer

The owner was 'great commissioner of the palace' for Osorkon II, whose cartouches with birth and throne names appear on the upper arms. The shrine he presents contains a figure of Atum, the creator god of Heliopolis. The statue stood in a temple of Atem in Tell el-Maskhuta, on the eastern edge of the Nile Delta.

The scarab on the head is an image of Khepri, the morning sun, who had the power of endless rebirth. Khepri was closely identified with Atum, because both gods were supposedly self-created: Khepri at every sunrise, and Atum at the beginning of time.

The Heliopolitan gods Ra-Horakhty, Shu and Tefnut appear in relief on the owner's left side, the Theban triad of Amun-Ra, Mut and Khonsu on his right. Shu and his consort Tefnut, who represented air and moisture, were the first gods Atum created.

22nd Dynasty, reign of Osorkon II (about 874-850 B.C.)

From Tell el-Mskhuta, temple of Atum

Granite

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Supplementary images:

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Solar disc on the head of the block statue of Ankhrenepnefer

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Source:  London, United Kingdom