Steatite Tiye

Made of glazed steatite, often known as soapstone, and at 29cm tall, this figurine shows Queen Tiye in full royal regalia. She is pictured wearing the double-plume crown, with the falcon-winged headpiece with triple uraeus cascading over her extravagant and expansive wig. A finely detailed usekh collar is worn around her neck and rests delicately upon her bust, and she holds a fly swatter in her left hand, while her right hand is unfortunately lost.

Tiye wears a snugly fitted garment with a wrap around effect, as well as a falcon feather pattern that gives it an almost scale-like appearance. When viewing this piece, one can be reminded of the 1963 epic Cleopatra, notably Elizabeth Taylor’s attire in the fanciful scene in which queen Cleopatra enters Rome.

The ancient craftsman who carved this piece captured such grandeur and detail, leaving us in awe at how remarkable the costume may have appeared adorning Queen Tiye in person.

Unfortunately, there are several broken and missing elements in this marvel of Egyptian New Kingdom craftsmanship. Tiye is now alone, as the portrayal of her husband, King Amenhotep III, beside her has been lost to history, with all that remains of the king being his left arm and hand, with cuffs adorning his wrist and bicep, leaving us with a ghost of a figure that once was.

The inscriptions on the back of the piece have been damaged, but the names of Tiye and Amenhotep III can still be read. The name Amun is intriguingly struck out. This is most likely owing to the theological revolution that followed Amenhotep III’s reign, which was led by the royal couple’s son and heir, Akhenaten, born as Amenhotep IV.

As Akhenaten’s Atenist cult acquired control of Egypt, Amun was forced to relinquish his throne as the supreme deity of Thebes, and the Atenists, led by the son of Amenhotep III and Tiye, king Akhenaten, relocated the Egyptian capital further north to a seemingly virgin region which he named Akhet-Aten (Horizon of Aten) in order to certify Egypt’s then new (and in hindsight, temporary) direction.

The piece is now on display at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, however, it arrived in two parts over a century apart. The lower part of the statue (E 25493) was acquired by the museum in 1826 from Henry Salt, and the upper part (E 25493) became museum property in 1962 via a donor from The Société des amis du Louvre.

Summary:

Steatite (soapstone) statuette of Queen Tiye

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1390-1352 B.C.
Dimensions: Height: 29 cm; Width: 12.3 cm
Provenance Unknown.
Musée du Louvre. Inv. N 2312 + E 25493