From Thebes, Ramesseum
19th dyn. reign of Ramses II, 1279-1213 BC.
Dark granite with yellow-red marks
Height 227 cm.
cat. 22678

Colossal statue that portrays queen Tuya, an important historical figure, wife of the pharoah Sethi I (1294-1279 BC) and venerated mother of his successor, Ramses II (1279-1213 BC). The work was dedicated in the temple of the latter, the Ramesseum, in Thebes and was brought from here to Rome by Caligula (37-41 AD), together with the statues of Ptolemy Philadelphos and Arsinoe II (5.12 e 5.13) to decorate the Sallustian gardens, where they were found in the 18th century near the present-day Piazza Fiume.