The Ancient Amenhotepe III pendant is a small, exquisite figurine that was unearthed during the reign of King Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. The pendant depicts a squatting king within the Blue Crown and holding the symbols of pharaonic power, the scepter and flail. The figurine is just over 5 cm tall and is made of a heavy, golden chain.
Many believe that the great pharaoh Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun’s grandfather, holds some doubt about this identification.
Tutankhamun never met his grandparents, as they passed away years before he was born. However, at the time of Tutankhamun’s reign, Amenhotep III was a well-respected and revered figure, and it is possible that those who prepared Tutankhamun’s tomb wanted to associate the young king with his grandfather.
The discovery took place inside a set of ancient caves, alongside a smaller coffin inscribed with the name of Queen Tiye, Tutankhamun’s grandmother, and a lock of her hair. Howard Carter, the archaeologist who unearthed the tomb, believed that the pendant and the lock of hair were included in Tutankhamun’s burial as a way of honoring his grandmother’s significance in his heritage.
However, there is no conclusive evidence to support this theory. The inscriptions on the nested coffins mention only Tutankhamun, and the figure on the pendant has his pierced earlobes, a feature that was not present in depictions of Amenhotep III but was present in depictions of Tutankhamun and other pharaohs.
It is possible that the artifact was included in Tutankhamun’s tomb for some unknown, mysterious purposes. The Pennant of Amenhotep III can now be found in the collection of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (JE 60702).
