The curious case of the colossal statue of Thutmose III before the south-east face of the seventh pylon at Karnak

A colossal statue of Thutmose III before the south-east face of the Seventh Pylon at the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak (PM II2, 171 J) appears to have inscriptions dating from various rulers of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties. Known as Statue J in Porter and Moss, the inscriptions on the base were wrongly linked to the northern statue (PM II2, 168 A), namely, the Osiride statue of Thutmose III before the north-east face of the Seventh Pylon. Fieldwork undertaken at Karnak has shown that these inscriptions have been wrongly attributed and belong to the southern statue, but the colossal statue itself is perplexing in other ways. Specifically, the name rings engraved on the base, which appear to be of a later date, together with a subsequent usurpation of Ramesses II in the Nineteenth Dynasty.