Bust of Tuthmosis IV
Nag el-Madamud, temple of Mentu, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Tuthmosis IV, 1401-1391 BC
Red granite
Musée du Louvre E 13889
cat. no. 11

The reign of Tuthmosis IV marks a turning point in the history of Dynasty 18. Ending the military campaigns that characterized the reigns of his predecessors, Tuthmosis IV made treaties with the neighboring rulers that ushered in an era of peace and political stability lasting through the reign of his son Amenhotep III.

Reflecting the change from a wartime to a peacetime economy, a new sweetness pervades the royal visage. The king has large slanted almond-shaped eyes, high cheek-bones, tapering jawbone, and wide smiling mouth. The pursed upper lip suggests an overbite, a family trait that also appears in the portraits of his son.