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Egyptian Artifacts

Limestone Fragment of Akhenaten

There are so many cool pieces in the Petrie Museum – while the pieces may not be as big or grand as the ones in the MET, Louvre, or British Museums, they are significant because they give a glimpse into the more subtle greatnesses in Egyptian society. Actually though, the β€œsister piece” to this one is actually in the MET!

This piece of limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ (dated c. 1353–1336 B.C.E.) is what is known as a β€œtrial piece” – basically it was practice for the artist/sculptor before they made the real thing! This was found in the sculptor’s workshop at Amarna (in the southern 𓇔𓅱𓏏 part of the city). While Tell el-Amarna is the modem name for the area, Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– named his new capital β€œAkhetaton” or β€œHorizon of the Aten” – the capital of Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– was originally Thebes π“Œ€π“π“Š– before the big move.

Petrie spent a lot of time excavating that part of the city during his time there from 1891-1892. Most of what we initially learned about the city and it’s architecture came from Petrie’s excavations. Fun Fact: Howard Carter assisted Petrie on these digs!

The piece unmistakably depicts Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ–. It is very easy to tell when Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– is being shown because of his very distinct facial features (pointed chin, long neck/face). It would also make sense that most of the artwork that was found at the sculptors workshop in his capital would contain art that depicted him, Nefertiti π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“„€π“‡π“π“­, the royal family, and the Aten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³.