King Khafre wears a modest kilt and sits firmly erect on a throne constructed of the bodies of two stylised lions in this image from his valley temple at Gizeh. Lotus and papyrus plants are intertwined between the throne's legs. Khafre wears the royal linen headpiece and has the royal faux beard affixed on his chin. The headgear covers his brow and hangs over his shoulders in pleated folds. The bird behind Khafre's head identifies the monarch as the "Living Horus."

Regardless of his true age and looks, the sculptor depicted Khafre with a well-developed, faultless body and a gorgeous visage, as befitting a celestial monarch. The picture of Khafre is not a real resemblance and was not intended to be. The goal of Egyptian royal portraiture was not to imitate body contours or to capture specific traits. Sculptors of the Old Kingdom aspired to create idealized representations that expressed the heavenly character of Egyptian royalty. Nonetheless, each king's image had enough distinguishing face features for his people to know where to live.