The Egypt connection

The Egypt connection

A unique ancient Egyptian statue rediscovered ten years ago, not in the deserts of Egypt but in the basement of Southampton’s Museum of Archaeology, will now have pride of place in a new permanent display there.

The statue is thought to be a portrait of the black Pharaoh, Taharqa, who reigned in the 7th Century BC. He was a Kushite king, and came from Nubia, now Sudan. He is depicted as a god, and is superbly sculpted in granodiorite, a finely grained hard black stone.

The statue came to light when an exhibition about ancient Egypt was being planned in 1995. Local Egyptologists Hilary Wilson and Peter Funnell were amazed to find this statue lying neglected and unrecognised in the storeroom. They immediately recognised its importance and their suspicions were confirmed by Vivian Davies, the Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities from the British Museum, who was very excited by the find – very few representations of Taharqa exist.

Since its discovery the statue has been on display in the City Art Gallery and the British Museum, and was a star exhibit in an exhibition which toured Spain.