Statue of Thutmosis IV and his mother

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Thutmosis IV was the son of king Amenhotep III from a secondary wife called Ti. So he had not the right to ascend the throne. As he was not the eldest son of the king he was just a prince. Thutmosis IV invented a story came under the category of oracle. In this story he claimed that while he was hunting in the area of Giza he felt asleep and slept under the shadow of the sphinx. He dreamt that god ra Hr Axty on of the forms of the sun god Re told him that if he removes the sand off the body of the sphinx he will be the king of Upper and Lower Egypt. This story was confirmed by the high priests of god Re. all this had happened during the life time of his father. By this oracle and the assistance of the priests he succeeded in ascending the throne of Egypt upon the death of his father. He erected a stela better known as the dream stela. It was found between the paws of the sphinx. He ruled the country for about 10 years following the same aggressive policy as his predecessors. He carried out many punitive expeditions into Asia and Nubia. We should not neglect that as a kind of consolidation to his position in Asia he married the daughter of the king of Mitanni. She was called Mutamuia. He constructed a huge obelisk 105 m high. It is standing now in Rome.

The statue:

This couple statue represents king Thutmosis IV together with his mother queen Ti. As he was son of a minor queen he tried so much to honor his mother. He gave her the title ti aA which means great Ti. He also carved for her this wonderful state. He even gave her the title wrt Xmt nswt which means the great royal wife. The statue is made out of black granite which was quarried from Aswan. It was discovered by Legrain in 1904 in Karnak Cachette. Here the king is represented seated together with his mother on a big throne as a way of love and affection.

The king:

He is represented with most signs of royalty such as the uraeus attached to his forehead. He is also represented with a hair wig not with the nms head dress nor the crown. The king is wearing the royal kilt with a central tab and a belt over which there is a cartouche bearing the name of the king mn xprw ra. Thutmosis IV is sitting on the throne putting his right hand on his thigh, while embracing his mother with the other hand as a way of showing love and affection. We can see an animal tail between his legs as a sign of power. The king holds the sign of life anx. There is also a representation of the nine bows symbolizing the traditional enemies of ancient Egypt. Concerning these bows, either they represent the nine traditional enemies who were:

Tehenew

Temehew

Nubians

Ethiopians

Sea people

Hittites

Mesopotamian

Assyrians

Bedouins

A recent theory mentioned that it is not convincible that the enemies were nine in number so we think that they were originally three in number; the Nubians, the Libyans and the Asiatic and the number nine comes out of exaggeration that. They were depicted under the feet of the king to show that they are completely submitted under his control

The queen:

Queen Ti is represented wearing a tripartite hair wig with a uraeus attached to the forehead. She is also wearing a long tight fitting dress.

It is transparent as we can see all the details of her body. We can notice also the bracelets and the collar around the neck. The statue is supported with a long back pillar. She is sitting beside her son putting her left hand on her thigh while embracing her son with the other hand. On both sides of the statue e can see a representation of the smA tAwy symbolizing the unification of the two lands.

There are some hieroglyphic inscriptions read as follows:

The right side:

Wrt Xmt nswt or Xmt nswt wrt mwt nswt mryt.f ti aA mAat xrw

The great royal wife, the royal mother, his beloved, the great Ti, true of voice

The left side:

Nfr nTr mn xprw ra mry imn nb iswt tAwy di anx

The good god, the stability is the existence of god Re, beloved of Amen, the lord of the thrones of the two lands, given life