The damaging of most of Egyptian statues come down to us may be due to natural causes, but also to acts of intentional destruction. Nevertheless, even in the case of very fragmentary statues the depicted person can often be identified by comparing the piece with other works. This fragment was the base of a royal statue holding an offering table. The fine sculpting and surface polishing, as well as the almost purple stone, point to a date in the reign of Amenhotep III. The statue was later usurped by Merenptah by erasing the original inscription and replacing it with very deep hieroglyphs, typical of the Ramesside period.
