Tag: nefertiti

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Egyptian Artifacts

Head of Akhenaten or Nefertiti?

The MET has this piece listed as โ€œHead of Akhenaten or Nefertitiโ€ but to me, the head looks more like Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ than Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–! Let me know who you think this piece looks more like in the comments!  

This piece is dated to c. 1353โ€“1336 B.C.E., which unsurprisingly is during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The piece was found during the 1891-1892 excavations of Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– (present-day Amarna) by Flinders Petrie and Howard Carter. 

The bust was found in one of the sculptorโ€™s ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€ workshops. The sculptorโ€™s ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€ workshops in Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– have been the source of many beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ 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 ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ? 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 โ€œsculptor ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€โ€ off the top of my head so I looked it up! One of the alternative translations for โ€œsculptor ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€โ€œ is โ€œLife Giverโ€ which I find so fascinating – it really gives insight into the Egyptian culture because the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ or statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of a person could give ๐“™ life ๐“‹น to them after death! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Akhenaten and Nefertiti

When I went to the Louvre in 2015, this was one of my must-see pieces! The love story of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— has always fascinated me . This painted limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ reminds me of the popular โ€œcouples statues,โ€ which depict a husband and wife sitting together, that were prominent in burials during the Old Kingdom!

Akhenaten and Nefertiti

Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— was the โ€œGreat Royal Wife ๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆž๐“๐“…จโ€ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. This statue depicts Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— (left) and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– (right) holding hands and walking forward. We know they are walking forward because one foot is placed in front of the other. 

Letโ€™s talk about their clothing! They both have sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ช on their feet and wearing broad collars ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹๐“ฆ, the necklace ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง of choice for royals and the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน. Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is also wearing the blue Khepresh crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ on his head, while Nefertiti appears to be wearing what looks like the red crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹”, but there is blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on it! . The Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— is still present on the front of both crowns! 

What was the purpose of this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ? This most likely came from a private home, where it was used in a shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰ to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“—. The common people would worship Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— because they were thought to be manifestations ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ here on Earth. 

The typical Amarna-style (elongated faces and limbs, more body fat in the stomach and thighs) is present here, which makes it very easy to identify these figures as Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The Amarna art revolution is so interesting because Egyptian art didnโ€™t change much until Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule, then there was this drastic change, and then once Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– died, the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช reverted back to the traditional art style and it stated that way for the rest of the civilization. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Wilbour Plaque

Not only is the Wilbour Plaque one of my absolute favorite pieces, this is one of the most famous pieces of Amarna-era art! The Brooklyn Museum has an amazing collection of artifacts from Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ and Iโ€™ll never forget the first time I got to see it with my Nonno!ย 

Wilbour Plaque
Me with the Wilbour Plaque at the Brooklyn Museum!

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 his reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ was compared to the other pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ – not only did the art style completely change, but the religion changed too! 

The top piece in the display is known as the Wilbour Plaque, named after Charles Wilbour who acquired it in 1881. This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ piece is interesting because it is complete as is it was; it was never part of a larger scene and was most likely used as a model for sculptors! Sculptor models were used by artists as references when they were making official art of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป!ย 

The Wilbour Plaque (top) and another Sculptor’s Model (bottom) on display at the Brooklyn Museum!

While there arenโ€™t any inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, 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 Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ in the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ 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! This piece shows Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– with another member of the royal family, and a hand! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

The love story of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— is one that definitely captures the attention of Egyptologists and non-Egyptologists alike! I have always been fascinated by these two ๐“ป and I was so excited to see this painted limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the two ๐“ป of them at the Louvre! It was one of my must-see pieces! This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ reminds me of the popular โ€œcouples statuesโ€ that were prominent in burials during the Old Kingdom! โ€œCouple Statuesโ€ depict a husband and wife sitting together! 

Akhenaten and Nefertiti
Limestone statue depicting Nefertiti and Akhenaten

Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— was the โ€œGreat Royal Wife ๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆž๐“๐“…จโ€ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. This statue depicts Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— (left) and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– (right) holding hands and walking forward. We know they are walking forward because one foot is placed in front of the other in a striding position. I also love the detail of the sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ช on their feet! They are also both wearing broad collars ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹๐“ฆ, the necklace ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง of choice for royals and the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน. Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is also wearing the blue Khepresh crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ on his head, while Nefertiti appears to be wearing what looks like the red crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹”, but there is blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on it! The Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— is still present on the front of both crowns!ย 

What was the purpose of this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ? This came from a private home, where it was used in a shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰ to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“—. The common people would worship Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— because they were thought to be manifestations ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ here on Earth. 

The typical Amarna-style (elongated faces and limbs, more body fat in the stomach and thighs) is present here, which makes it very easy to identify these figures as Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The Amarna art revolution is so interesting because Egyptian art didnโ€™t change much until Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule, then there was this drastic change, and then once Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– died, the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช reverted back to the traditional art style and it stated that way for the rest of the civilization. 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Nefertiti’s Name and Titles in Hieroglyphs

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

On this relief from the remains of the Central Palace at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– (present day Tel el-Amarna), you can see Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„คย  ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ, and their daughter ๐“…ญ๐“ Meriaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ˜๐“๐“ praising the sun god, Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ. The rays of the sun are depicted as hands giving the symbol of life, the ankh ๐“‹น, to the royal family.ย 

Nefertitiโ€™s cartouche appears twice on this relief. Letโ€™s look at the inscription on the left! Some of it is missing, but I am going to infer the missing pieces: 

๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ˜๐“๐“ – Meriaten (the last two symbols of her name are seen in the inscription ๐“๐“) (this is my guess)

๐“Œบ – Beloved

๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“ˆ– – Born of 

๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž – Kingโ€™s Great Wife 

๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„ค ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ – Neferneferuaten Nefertiti

๐“‹น๐“˜ – May She Live! 

๐“†– – Everlasting (eternity)

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

So all together, the inscription reads: โ€œMeriaten, born of the beloved Kingโ€™s Great Wife Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, May she live for everlasting eternity.โ€ 

Nefertitiโ€™s cartouche reads โ€œNeferneferuaten Nefertitiโ€ which pretty much translates to โ€œBeauty is the Beauties of Aten, the beautiful one has come.โ€ โ€œ๐“„คโ€ is a triliteral phonogram and translates to โ€œnfrโ€ (pronounced nefer) which means beauty or beautiful. This is actually the shorthand way to write โ€œbeautiful,โ€ and the other  way it appears in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ is fully spelled out as โ€œ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹โ€ – itโ€™s still pronounced the same though as โ€œ๐“†‘ = fโ€ and โ€œ๐“‚‹ = r.โ€ 

Above her cartouche on the left side of the relief you can see her title โ€œKingโ€™s Great Wifeโ€ ๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž – (ancient Egyptians had no word for queen). Pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ also usually had multiple wives, so this title denoted the โ€œfavoriteโ€ wife. 

While both of the following words – ๐“†– and ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› mean the word โ€œeternity,โ€ a lot of times they are seen together on inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! It would be silly to say โ€œeternity eternity,โ€ so Egyptologists translate this phrase as โ€œ๐“†–๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› Everlasting Eternity.โ€ 

This relief is presently located at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at UCL, London. 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Cartouches of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

While this may just seem like the broken fragment of a statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ (and I guess it is), I love this piece at the MET because it contains the cartouches of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“˜๐“ป๐“—!ย 

The Amarna Period, and the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— has always fascinated me, ever since I was a child ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€”. Professional Egyptologists have tried to piece together the series of events that shaped this tumultuous time period of Egyptian history, mostly by looking at the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช themselves.

Fragmented statue containing the cartouches of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Letโ€™s start at the right column, since the directional symbols point that way!

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt

๐“‹น – Life

๐“ – On

๐“ง – Maat

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–- Neferkheperura-waenre which means “Beautiful are the Forms/Manifestations of Re, the Unique one of Re” (Akhenatenโ€™s throne name)

๐“™๐“‹น – Given Life

Now on to the left column! This first part is cut off, but itโ€™s probably a variant Nefertitiโ€™s title of โ€œKingโ€™s Great Wife, as you can see the ending of the word โ€œ great ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“โ€

๐“ˆ˜๐“๐“†‘ – His Beloved

๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“˜๐“ป๐“— – Nefertiti (Neferneferuaten Nefertiti)

๐“‹น๐“ – May She Live/The Living

๐“†– – Everlasting/Eternal/Eternity

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

What always gets me is Akhenatenโ€™s throne name of ๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–- Neferkheperura-waenre. This particular spelling of the throne name is only seen after he changed his given name from Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€ to Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The original spelling, before the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– change was โ€œ๐“œ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“ฆ๐“‡ณ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–.โ€ The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is still pronounced the same and has the same meaning, but the falcon glyph ๐“œ was changed to just the sun disc ๐“‡ณ (both pronounced Re/Ra).ย  Also, all of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– other names (Horus name, etc) underwent a change, to remove the other deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, but this one didnโ€™t.ย 

I wonder why Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– didnโ€™t change the throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–) to represent the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, just like how all of his other names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ were changed.ย  Nefertitiโ€™s name also underwent a change; her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– went from just Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— to Neferneferuaten Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“˜๐“ป๐“— around year 5 of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– reign. Year 5 in the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– is significant, because that is when we see most of the changes to Atenism begin to take place. Year 5 is when Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ became the supreme and only god ๐“Šน, and the other deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน could not be worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข.

Since this piece contains the โ€œupdatedโ€ version of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– throne name and the longer version of Nefertitiโ€™s ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“˜๐“ป๐“— name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, we can assume that this piece was made during or after year 5 of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“.

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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

Reliefs from Amarna – featuring Nefertiti!

This is a painted limestone sunken relief of Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ.

Relief of Nefertiti at the Brooklyn Museum

Even though her name does not appear on the relief, thanks to the uniqueness of the Amarna art style, it can be easy to tell who is who in the art. The headdress that Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ is wearing in this relief is the same headdress that the famous Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ bust in Berlin wears! You can also see the phrase โ€œ ๐“™๐“‹นโ€ which means โ€œgiven lifeโ€ above her head. The rest of the inscription cannot be read.

The second relief is a raised relief and it was once part of a larger image. It shows feet in sandals! The description from the museum says itโ€™s from an unidentified woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ or queen ๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž. This could be Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ, or one of her and Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– daughters.

Feet In Sandals relief at the Brooklyn Museum

The third piece is a bust. According to the museum, scholars used to think this was a bust of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, Smenkhare ๐“‡ณ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ป๐“‚“๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ, or Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“. However, more recently, it is thought to show Ankhesenpaaten, the second daughter of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ. Ankhesenpaaten was the wife/queen ๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ and during his rule changed her name to Ankhesenamun to reflect the switch back to the old religion. The name Ankhesenamun means โ€œshe who lives through Amun.โ€

Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ also went through a name change when he switched Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– religion back – his original name was Tutankhaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“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€

Categories
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–.