Did Michael Jackson Model Himself on This Egyptian Statue?

A few weeks ago, I speculated that Jeff Koons’ statue Michael Jackson & Bubbles was inspired by Tutankhamun. With his deathmask-like face and opulent gilding, Koons’ Michael seemed eerily reminiscent of the boy king. One extremely expensive burial featuring in-your-face-Tut’esque golden coffin later, the parallels between the two icons started adding up. Now, an ancient Egyptian statue in Chicago’s Field Museum has been seen to show a shocking similarity to the face of the late Michael Jackson.

The Chicago Sun-Timespointed outthat Jacksoncould have actually modelled himself on the limestone statue:

The limestone bust, which went on public display in 1988, was carved during the New Kingdom Period (1550 B.C. to 1050 B.C.); the same time period as Ramesses and King Tut… In 1993, Jackson, whose face was then virtually identical to the statue, cut a video titled “Remember The Time,” which he sets in ancient Egypt – during the time of the Pharaoh Ramesses.

Click here to watch the video for Remember The Time on Youtube, or watch it below (Eddie Murphy plays Ramesses!).

Distinguishing Feature

Michael Jackson may have baulked at the irony of both his own nose, and that of the statue, disintegrating in later years. The statue’s nose now bears an uncanny likeness to the late star’s own over-worked feature. The chicago-ist adds:

A spokesperson at the Field Museum told us, “according to the curator, 95% of Egyptian statues and busts were defiled by early Christians and Muslims because they were used for idolatry. They looked at these as idols and taking the nose off made them ‘non-human.'”

Perhaps, though, he would have enjoyed the comparison to the ‘Boy King’ – another grown man who was thrust into the limelight from an early age. King Tut is often thought of as a child – a perception that

Jackson, whose face was then virtually identical to the statue, cut a video titled “Remember The Time,” which he sets in ancient Egypt – during the time of the Pharaoh Ramesses

Jackson seemed to have of himself, but which somehow, and perhaps in a sinister way, was warped. In the end, at least he achieved the moniker of ‘king’.

Thankfully, Tut fans can now mould their own face and body, and vent their passion for ancient Egypt, in Heritage Key’s Virtual King Tut, potentially rendering the need for plastic surgery redundant.