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Egyptian Artifacts

The Wilbour Plaque

This is one of my absolute favorite pieces and I was so excited to see it again in person at the Brooklyn Museum after so long!

After Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ, Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– is my second favorite pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 because of just how different/bizarre his rule was compared to everything/everyone else. The Brooklyn Museum has an amazing collection of artifacts from Akhenaten’s π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– rule!

The top piece in the display is known as the Wilbour Plaque, after Charles Wilbour who acquired it in 1881. The plaque is interesting because it is complete as is it was never part of a larger scene and was most like used as a model for sculptors. While there aren’t any inscriptions to confirm this, it is assumed that the people represented here are Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– and Nefertiti π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“‡π“π“­. However, some argue that the person accompanying Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– in the image could either be Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“ or Smenkare π“‡³π“Šƒπ“‰»π“‚“π“‚¦π“†£.

To me this piece is interesting because the Aten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³ is no where in sight! Usually Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– is always accompanied by an image of the sun 𓇳𓏺/Aten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³ with sun rays shining on him. It’s almost kinda weird to see him like this!

The second piece in the display is another sculptor’s model!