Tag: akhenaten

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Egyptian Artifacts

Fragment of a Statue of Akhenaten

My Nonno and Nonna took my sister and I to the Brooklyn Museum for the first time over 15 ๐“Ž†๐“พ years ago – one of the things I loved most about it was the beautiful collection of artifacts from the Amarna Period – aka the rule of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–!

This piece is a fragment of a statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. Although the cartouches have been โ€œerased,โ€ stylistically, the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is obviously of him due to the way the chest is carved.

Petrie is credited with finding this – he found 17 ๐“Ž†๐“€ partial statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ during his excavation of the city in the 1890s. He also found tons of statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช that seemed to be purposefully smashed. Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ were definitely unpopular due to not only moving Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– capital but also because they changed the religion from polytheistic to the monotheistic worship of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ. This mass destruction of the statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช showed that the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช wanted to erase Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule.

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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 ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is my second favorite pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป because of just how different/bizarre his rule was compared to everything/everyone else. The Brooklyn Museum has an amazing collection of artifacts from Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“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 arenโ€™t any inscriptions to confirm this, it is assumed that the people represented here are Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ. However, some argue that the person accompanying Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– in the image could either be Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ or Smenkare ๐“‡ณ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ป๐“‚“๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ.

To me this piece is interesting because the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ is no where in sight! Usually Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is always accompanied by an image of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ/Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ with sun rays shining on him. Itโ€™s almost kinda weird to see him like this!

The second piece in the display is another sculptorโ€™s model!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of an “Amarna King”

The Amarna Period and Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– reign as pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป has always fascinated me. All of the radical changes that were made – such as changing the religion from polytheistic to the monotheistic worship of Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, to moving the capital, to the changes in the art – it must have been quite crazy during those years!

This is actually one of my favorite pieces in the Brooklyn Museum – the Museum has the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ labeled as โ€œAmarna Kingโ€ but to me itโ€™s clear that this piece represents Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. He is represented in typical Amarna art style here: distended belly/large hips, very long arms, narrow neck and angular face. It is not known whether these are exaggerated features, or if the art was meant to be a more realistic representation of what the royal family looked like. Usually Egyptian art depicted people at their finest, with idealized features rather than realistic ones.

In this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is wearing the khepresh ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ crown with the gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— preserved at the front, a broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ necklace and a skirt. While this limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statueโ€™s ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ paint is preserved beautifully the gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ that is seen is actually gold leaf and not paint!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Realistic Lion Statue of Amenhotep III or IV

This lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„› statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was originally meant to represent the 18th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž . The Egyptians believed that lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ฆ represented strength and might, which is why pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ wanted to be represented as lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ฆ (and why the Sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค was so popular). While being represented as a sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค was considered the โ€œnormalโ€ in Egyptian art, being represented as a full lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„› was very rare. Also, sphinxes ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ฆ are usually represented in a โ€œhead-onโ€ type style, while this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ represents the lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ฆ in a more realistic fashion.

To me, this piece showcases the incredible skills that Egyptian artists possessed – not only could they make idealized/traditional statues like sphinxes ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ฆ, but they were also masters at making realistic statues too.

This statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ has gone through many changes and was recycled by many pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ! It was originally made for Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž , however, an inscription was added to the chest by Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€ (better known as Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– after his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– change).

The inscription reads โ€œLion of rulers, wild when he sees his enemies tread his path.โ€ The picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ below shows a close up of this inscription, however it is hard to read – I got some help from the British Museum website for the translation because when hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are faded, especially when looking at them from my photographs, they can be extremely difficult for me to read!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Abydos Kings List and the Missing Pharaohs

Something I was so excited to see in the British Museum was the Abydos King List. There are two surviving King Lists from temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ช at Abydos, the cult center of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. One temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ is from Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ , and the other from his son Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“, who were both pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ during the 19th Dynasty. Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  list is still in the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Abydos, while Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ was excavated and brought to the British Museum.

While neither list is a 100% complete list, there are some glaring holes in the list – Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, Smenkhare ๐“‡ณ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ป๐“‚“๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ, Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“, and Ayโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“ช๐“น๐“™๐“ cartouches are missing. Obviously, these names were left off because these pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ are considered non-legitimate. Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช was the female pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and Akhenaten-Ay is considered the Amarna Period, which was not well liked due to the drama of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– changing the religion and moving the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, Iโ€™m pointing to where Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– should be!

The point of the King Lists was not to preserve history for future generations, rather the main objective was to glorify the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, and as we know, pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ were considered gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on Earth. These lists allowed Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ to assert their legitimacy amongst the old pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Small Limestone Stela of Akhenaten

Hereโ€™s another piece from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology! This is a small limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– (by small, I mean it is only about 8.5cm in height)!

While the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is very crudely drawn, it is quite obvious that we are looking at Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– here because art during the period of his rule was incredibly unique! On the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– can be seen standing in front of two ๐“ป vases of incense with his arms raised in a worshipping position. The Sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ, or the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, can be seen above Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– head ๐“ถ๐“บ.

The Petrie Museum has a lot of unique pieces from Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– reign because Petrie helped to excavate Amarna, which the place in modern-day Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– where Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– moved the capital to (the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was originally in Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š–). The new capital was called Akhetaton โ€œHorizon of the Atenโ€ and it was established ~1332 B.C.E., around the time when the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ was declared to be the only god ๐“Šน.

One of the reasons I enjoyed my trip to the Petrie Museum so much was being able to see all of these unique pieces that really canโ€™t be seen in other museums! Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is my second favorite pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, so I really enjoyed seeing all of the Amarna-era pieces!

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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 โ€œsister pieceโ€ to this one is actually in the MET!

This piece of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ (dated c. 1353โ€“1336 B.C.E.) is what is known as a โ€œtrial pieceโ€ – basically it was practice for the artist/sculptor before they made the real thing! This was found in the sculptorโ€™s workshop at Amarna (in the southern ๐“‡”๐“…ฑ๐“ part of the city). While Tell el-Amarna is the modem name for the area, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– named his new capital โ€œAkhetatonโ€ or โ€œHorizon of the Atenโ€ – the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was originally Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“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 itโ€™s architecture came from Petrieโ€™s excavations. Fun Fact: Howard Carter assisted Petrie on these digs!

The piece unmistakably depicts Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. It is very easy to tell when Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“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 ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ, the royal family, and the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Limestone Parapet from Amarna

Here is a limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ fragment of a parapet (c. 1352-1336 B.C.E., New Kingdom Amarna Period) that depicts the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ. A parapet is a low wall, and it may have been part of a temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at one point.

In the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ is offering cartouches to the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ. These cartouches do not belong to Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, but to the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ itself which is different because cartouches were usually for pharaohs. Also strange is that other gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน are mentioned in the Atenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ cartouches, even while the Egyptian religion was banned. These might be early cartouches, before a complete ban took effect. There is also a lot of debate because does this mean that Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– was the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ on Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ, or were they two ๐“ป separate beings?

Front side of the limestone parapet from Amarna

Here is a closer look at the cartouches:

(๐“ˆŒ๐“ˆŒ๐“…Š๐“‹น๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“ฎ๐“›๐“๐“ˆŒ) – โ€œ “The living Re-Horakhty, Rejoicing in the horizon”

(๐“๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“†‘๐“๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ฎ๐“๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ) – โ€œIn his name as Shu, who is in the Aten”

Also in the image๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ is extending light rays to Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ. The light rays are represented by lines, with hands ๐“‚ง๐“๐“ฆ on the end that are holding Ankhs ๐“‹น๐“‹น๐“‹น.

Obverse side of the limestone parapet from Amarna

This is the obverse side of the limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ fragment of a parapet (c. 1352-1336 B.C.E., New Kingdom Amarna Period) that depicts the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– (left) and Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ (right).

The piece is in such poor condition because after the death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, his city was abandoned and fell to disarray. This makes the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช difficult to translate but I will try! Also, many of the buildings were destroyed by Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ and the materials were then used to build ๐“๐“‚ค๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“€ง one of his temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ.

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! This is the third column from the left:

(๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–) – cartouche of Akhenaten
๐“™๐“‰ป – โ€œTrue of Voiceโ€ or โ€œJustifiedโ€
๐“Šข๐“‚๐“‡ณ๐“ค – Lifetime
๐“†‘ – โ€œheโ€ or โ€œhisโ€

โ€œAkhenaten, true of voice, in his lifetimeโ€ฆโ€

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Egyptian Artifacts

Nefertiti and the Princess

This is a sunken relief of Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ and one of her daughters ๐“…ญ๐“๐“ฆ. A hand ๐“‚๐“ค holding an ankh ๐“‹น can be seen being extended to Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ and the princess, which is a very common representation of the sole sun ๐“‡ณ๐“ค god ๐“Šน, Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ.

The relief is carved in limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and some of the paint can still be seen on the relief! One of the things that is unique about the art from the period of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule (referred to by Egyptologists as the Amarna Period) is that a lot of the art depicts the life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“ of the royal family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ as a unit. Before this time period, royal families ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“€€๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ were not really depicted together at all – usually it was just the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป in art and the monuments.

Due to the fact that Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ were seen as a ruling unit, Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ was seen as being just as responsible for the shift in the Egyptian religion as Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– was. Much of the art from this period has sustained heavy damage, because it was purposefully hacked away at and destroyed, or used in other building projects – almost like an ancient Egyptian recycling program!

While Nefertitiโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ face ๐“ถ๐“ค is totally destroyed, the princessโ€™ face ๐“ถ๐“ค is not. This is illustrative of the violence shown towards images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ after her death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ due to her part in the changing religion. The princessโ€™ face ๐“ถ๐“ค was not touched, probably because she wasnโ€™t seen as responsible. The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช have also been totally destroyed, but ironically the word โ€œAten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณโ€ is the one word that can still be seen! The word for Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ was most likely part of the princessโ€™ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Amarna Art (Part 1)

One of the reasons I loved the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology so much was because of the amount of pieces from Amarna (the modern name of Akhenatenโ€™s capital of Egypt) that are in the collection! While Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is my favorite pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is my second favorite! I seem to like the โ€œuntraditionalโ€ pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ who didnโ€™t play by the rules!

One of the many charms of the Petrie Museum is that most of the pieces arenโ€™t considered striking or grand when you first look at them. This museum is for those who truly appreciate ancient Egyptian culture as a whole, not just the shiny gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ pieces or jewels.

This piece is a quartzite inlay or either Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– or Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ. Quartzite is a very difficult rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ to work with because it is so dense and strong. Quartzite is a metamorphic rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ that is formed when heat and pressure is applied to the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ sandstone ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“‚ง๐“๐“Œ—๐“ˆ™. A process called recrystallization occurs due to the heat and pressure, which causes the sand grains in the sandstone ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“‚ง๐“๐“Œ—๐“ˆ™ to increase in size and become more dense! As a person who knows her geology, always amazes me when the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช worked with quartzite! Quartzite is usually found in quarries ๐“Ž›๐“๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ in Aswan ๐“‹ด๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ฒ๐“Š–, as is granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ!

Egyptologists canโ€™t tell if the inlay was supposed to be Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– or Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ because they were usually represented very similarly; the style during Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule ๐“‹พ was very different than the traditional Egyptian art styles, which makes it so weird and wonderful in its own way! While this piece itself was an inlay, a stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช was most likely supposed to go in the hole that represents the eye ๐“น๐“ค! So this is two ๐“ป inlays in one ๐“บ!