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Egyptian Artifacts

Head of Akhenaten or Nefertiti?

The MET has this piece listed as β€œHead of Akhenaten or Nefertiti” but to me, the head looks more like Nefertiti π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“‡π“π“­ than Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ–! Let me know who you think this piece looks more like in the comments!  

This piece is dated to c. 1353–1336 B.C.E., which unsurprisingly is during the reign π“‹Ύπ“ˆŽπ“ of Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ–. The piece was found during the 1891-1892 excavations of Akhetaten π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š– (present-day Amarna) by Flinders Petrie and Howard Carter. 

The bust was found in one of the sculptor’s π“‹΄π“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“€€ workshops. The sculptor’s π“‹΄π“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“€€ workshops in Akhetaten π“ˆŒπ“π“‰π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“Š– have been the source of many beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 pieces from this time period. I love the artifacts that are found in an unfinished state because it gives such insight into how these incredible ancient Egyptian artists worked and it shows that even the most grand of pieces started off in humble states! If this piece had been finished, would it have looked like the famous Bust of Nefertiti π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“‡π“π“­? Or was the piece just meant to be a trial piece and this was what it was supposed to look like?

One of my favorite things about this account is I get to learn as I am teaching! I did not know the word for β€œsculptor π“‹΄π“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“€€β€ off the top of my head so I looked it up! One of the alternative translations for β€œsculptor π“‹΄π“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“€€β€œ is β€œLife Giver” which I find so fascinating – it really gives insight into the Egyptian culture because the image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 or statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of a person could give 𓏙 life π“‹Ή to them after death! 

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