SOME CRITERIA FOR
ASSIGNING ART IN THE ROUND TO THE REIGN OF SETI THE FIRST
Since images in the round of the pharaoh, Seti I,
are relatively rare and those we have are quite varied in the sculptor's approach to the king's
features, it might be helpful to discuss certain of
his facial traits that each chose to emphasize--all
of them being still recognizable on the face of Seti's mummy.  At right, the artist elected to make the pharaoh's nose, with its large, winged nostrils the focus of the portrait.  He also showed how the man's eyebrows converged, in life, above the thin bridge of the nose and it is obvious that the eyes were large.  In fact, what
might be termed "wrap-around" eyes are a feature of one or two of the sculptures of
Menmaare Seti, including an unassigned one in
the Louvre, where the striding king holds an
image of Maat and is wearing a round crown, based on the khepresh, which he also wears in
reliefs at Abydos.

Another recognizable feature is the deep depression above the upper lip of the king, not emphasized in the image above but certainly in other portraits.  In this case, the mouth is rendered as rather thin, but the majority of the artists elected to portray the lips as tending to be quite full.

Just as there are few sculptures of Seti I, there
are also few that have been definitely assigned
to his reign.  I have selected two that have been
generally deemed "19th Dynasty", but which I
believe can quite safely be classified as "Reign of Seti I".  CLICK HERE TO SEE FIRST IMAGE