This remarkable painted sandstone statue of King Mentuhotep II marks a pivotal moment in the rebirth of Egyptian art at the dawn of the Middle Kingdom. Seated in serene majesty, the king wears the red Deshret crown of Lower Egypt, the short white heb-sed jubilee robe, and the ceremonial Osirian beard—powerful symbols of royal authority, renewal, and divine legitimacy.

Most striking is the king’s skin, painted a deep black. In ancient Egyptian symbolism, black was not the color of death but of rebirth—the fertile silt deposited by the Nile’s floods, from which life sprang each year. Osiris, god of the afterlife and eternal regeneration, was often shown with black or green skin to represent this cycle. Here, Mentuhotep appears in Osiride form, his arms crossed upon his chest in the god’s posture, affirming his own divine transformation and eternal kingship.

Mentuhotep II, founder of the Middle Kingdom (c. 2050–1710 BC), restored unity to Egypt after the political fragmentation that followed the Old Kingdom. In this statue, his powerful limbs and firmly planted feet convey vitality, permanence, and the strength of his rule. The image excludes all signs of human weakness, presenting instead an idealized vision of divine kingship.

The statue’s rediscovery in 1900 was a stroke of luck. While crossing the forecourt of Mentuhotep’s mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari, a young Howard Carter noticed his horse stumble on a hidden stone slab. Beneath it lay a shaft leading to a small chamber, where the statue had rested for millennia, wrapped in linen with ritual objects, awaiting its return to the light.

Middle Kingdom, 11th Dynasty, reign of Mentuhotep II, c. 2061–2010 BC.