Amarna Princesses
Photograph by Werner Forman
This fragment of wall painting, often known as the “Princess Fresco”, formed the lower portion of a larger decorative scene from the royal palace at Amarna, the city founded by Akhenaten. The scene depicts the king and his queen, Nefertiti, relaxing informally with their daughters within the palace residence.
Two of the princesses are shown seated casually on floor cushions in the foreground, an unusually natural pose in Egyptian art. Behind them falls the red sash of Nefertiti’s dress, while to the right appear the sandalled feet of Akhenaten. Between the royal couple stood three further daughters, and a sixth child was likely shown seated upon her mother’s lap, suggested by a surviving fragment depicting a baby’s hand.
Ashmolean Museum. AN1893.1–41.267
The relaxed composition and domestic subject matter contrast strongly with the formal conventions of earlier Egyptian art and reflect the experimental artistic style associated with the Amarna Period. Scenes of intimate royal family life such as this once decorated the walls of the palace buildings at Akhetaten.
The painting was executed on a thin layer of gesso (powdered gypsum mixed with glue)applied over mud plaster on a brick wall. It was excavated in the 1890s by the British Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie. Although the wall had been severely damaged by ants, Petrie successfully recovered and preserved the fragile fragments.
Ashmolean Museum. AN1893.1–41.267
The Great Palace Complex at Akhetaten (Tel el-Amarna)
The fresco once decorated the walls of the royal palace at Amarna, the purpose-built capital established by Akhenaten in the mid-14th century B.C. The palace complex formed the ceremonial and residential heart of the city, consisting of large courtyards, columned halls, private apartments, and richly decorated chambers connected by corridors and bridges across the Royal Road.
The buildings at Akhetaten were adorned with lively painted scenes of nature and intimate images of the royal family, reflecting the distinctive artistic and ideological innovations of the Amarna Period.
Summary:
Amarna Princesses
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Akhenaten, c. 1345–1335 B.C.
From the Great Palace Complex at Akhetaten (Tel el-Amarna)
Ashmolean Museum. AN1893.1–41.267
