Amarna Princess
This delicate limestone statuette portrays a daughter of King Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti. She is depicted wearing the distinctive “side-lock of youth,” a plaited strand of hair emerging from a cap-like crown, seemingly fashioned from layered beads.
The term “side-lock of youth” was coined by Egyptologists to describe this particular hairstyle, which was traditionally worn by children, youths, or the younger members of a family. The style typically consists of a single long plait set against an otherwise shaven or closely cropped head.
Only the upper portion of her figure remains, encompassing her shoulders and the area just above the bust. However, traces of paint and fine carving indicate that the original sculpture portrayed the princess adorned in exquisitely pleated linen garments and an elaborate usekh collar.
Her eyes are accentuated with bold cosmetic lines, as are her finely arched brows. Her facial features, characteristic of the Amarna period, render her instantly recognisable—her lips are subtly downturned, and her nose is slightly upturned with a gentle snub.
The remnants of pigment suggest she was originally painted with a warm, reddish skin tone, now faded to a soft peach hue. Traces of black pigment remain upon her hair and cap.
Musée du Louvre. E 14715
Akhenaten and Nefertiti had six known daughters, one of whom, Meketaten (meaning “Behold the Aten” or “Protected by Aten”), died young, her passing and funerary rites depicted upon the tomb walls at Amarna.
Their other daughters were Meritaten, Ankhesenamun (later the sister-wife of Tutankhamun, formerly known as Ankhesenpaaten), Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and Setepenre.
This particular head is frequently associated with Meritaten, though such identification remains unconfirmed.
Musée du Louvre. E 14715
The statuette was acquired by the Musée du Louvre in 1937 from the Armenian-American archaeologist Hagop Kevorkian and is currently on display in Room 638 of the Sully Wing, Level 1.
Summary:
Painted limestone statuette of an Amarna princess, daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1351-1332 B.C.
Tel el-Amarna.
Musée du Louvre. E 14715
