Something I love about visiting various museums is seeing similar pieces of Egyptian history no matter where I go! The Brooklyn Museum has a wonderful collection of Amarna-era pieces (many of which were found by Petrie), so itโs no surprise that I have seen similar pieces in various museums around the world!
In the middle of the display, you can see a red quartzite inlay of Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐. Inlays are part of what archaeologists call โcomposite statues,โ or statues ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ฆ that are composed of many different parts that would come together to form a single statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ! The part that would be the crown, and the stone ๐๐๐๐ช that was supposed to go in the hole that represents the eye ๐น๐ค are both missing. Either the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ was never finished or both were lost in antiquity.
Next to the inlay of Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐, there is another quartzite composite statue but it is a head ๐ถ๐ค of possibly Smenkare ๐ณ๐ด๐๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ช, the mystery pharaoh ๐๐ป that ruled ๐พ for a short period of time in between Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ and Tutankhamun ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐น๐พ๐บ๐. The statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ is in very bad condition, so it is really difficult to gather much information about it. However, at the time the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ was made, it was made with high quality workmanship!
The style during Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ rule ๐พ was very different than the traditional Egyptian art styles, which makes these pieces so weird and wonderful in their own way! I will never get tired of studying Amarna art!
There are over 200 ๐ฒ๐ฒ ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ figures that belonged to Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐. It seems strange that Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ would be buried with ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช because he completely changed the Egyptian religion from the traditional polytheistic worship ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ข to the monotheistic worship ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ข of the Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ. This shows that while he did completely change Egyptโs ๐๐ ๐๐ religion, some aspects of the old religion, such as belief in the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐, did remain and persist throughout his rule ๐พ.
While most ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช contain standard inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ known as the โshabti spellโ or โshabti text,โ Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช only contain inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ of his name ๐๐ and titles. This would make sense, since the โshabti spellsโ would be part of the traditional religion, and not the new one. Most of Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช are in various states of disarray, so this particular piece pictured ๐๐ ฑ๐ does not have any visible inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ.
I love how blue ๐๐น๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฅ this ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ is! Iโve seen many of Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช in museums around the world, and this one is my favorite because of the color! Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช were probably made in different workshops throughout his reign, which is why there are so many different variations instead of a singular and uniform style.
I also love how the Ankhs ๐น๐น in his hands ๐ง๐๐ฆ are white ๐๐๐ณ and stand out against the blue ๐๐น๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฅ faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ. The ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ also shows the traditional Amarna-era artistic style that is seen on most of the work from this time period.
Another example of Akhenaten’s ushabtis at the MET
Most of Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช are in various states of disarray, only one of these pieces has part of an inscription ๐๐๐ฅ on it! While most ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช contain standard inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ known as the โshabti spellโ or โshabti text,โ Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช only contain inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ of his name ๐๐ and titles. Letโs take a look at the partial inscription ๐๐๐ฅ!
You can see the inscription of โ๐ฅ,โ which as we have learned previously can translate to โHe of the Sedge and the Beeโ or โKing of Upper and Lower Egypt.โ As we know, this is a very popular title to be seen before a cartouche!
The โ๐ณโ in the cartouche is probably part of one of Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ throne names, which would most likely be โ๐ณ๐ค๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ก๐,โ since that is the only one of Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ name ๐๐ variants that begins with a โ๐ณ.โ
Even though ๐ณ๐ค๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ก๐ translates to โThe Beautiful One of the Manifestations of Ra, the Unique one of Ra,โ this variant was only seen after the name ๐๐ change from Amenhotep IV ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐น๐พ๐ to Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐!
As I stated previously, Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช were probably made in different workshops throughout his reign, which is why there are so many different variations instead of a singular and uniform style. This picture shows a couple of the styles of ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ . While all of the ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช look different, they all show the traditional Amarna-era artistic style that is seen on most of the work from this time period.
“The Two Lands are in a Festival of Light” at the MET
I absolutely love this piece and I have been very excited to write about it! The relief that I am highlighting is part of a larger display at the MET called โThe Two Lands are in a Festival of Light,โ and they were originally from the palace ๐๐๐๐๐บ walls at Amarna ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ is my second favorite pharaoh ๐๐ป (Hatshepsutย ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ผ๐ช is obviously my first favorite) and I love to see statues, reliefs, or anything from the Amarna ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ Period! I find everything to do with Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ so interesting because he was the โtroublemakerโ pharaoh ๐๐ป who completely changed everything about the Egyptian religion (polytheistic to monotheistic), moved the capital to Amarna ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, and generally was very much disliked by the Egyptian people ๐๐๐๐๐ช.ย
On this relief, we can see a large boat ๐ง๐ช๐๐ on the Nile ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐บ. At the front of the boat is a central structure that houses Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐, Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ and one of the princesses (who is very small and difficult to see). Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ can be seen striking down an enemy. The Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ is shining above Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ and sending light rays down to him.ย
“The Two Lands are in a Festival of Light” at the MET – closeup of Akhenaten (right) and Nefertiti (left)
Since these were on the palace ๐๐๐๐๐บ walls, it makes sense that Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ would want himself portrayed as very strong and striking down enemies. Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ is usually always depicted with his family ๐ ๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ฆ, so enemy smiting was clearly a royal family ๐ ๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ฆ affair! The depiction of the royal family ๐ ๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ฆ from this time period is fascinating because usually pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ were depicted alone, however in reliefs, Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐, Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ, and the princesses are always shown together ๐๐.ย
I find Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ to be such an interesting Pharaoh! “Egypt’s False Prophet: Akhenaten” is definitely a book ๐ ๐๐๐ I recommend – it shows how the early 18th Dynasty was a โset upโ for the Amarnaย ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ย period (the book actually talks about Hatshepsut ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ quite a lot).ย
The book ๐ ๐๐๐ also goes into detail about the excavation of the city ๐๐บ of Amarnaย ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, what occurred during Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ reign ๐พ, and then the fallout of Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ rule after his deathย ๐ ๐๐ฑ.ย
My Nonno gave this book ๐ ๐๐๐ to me forever ago when I first started getting interested in the Amarna ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ period and Iโve read it a bunch of times but I still find it to be so interesting!
Hieroglyph Fact: the word Iโm using for โbook ๐ ๐๐๐โ in this post actually translates to โpapyrusโ or โpapyrus rollโ – there is no word for โbookโ in Middle Egyptian, so this is the closest translation I could come up with!
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