Maru-Aten was not a palace in the traditional domestic sense, but more a ritual garden estate with strong royal and possibly sacred associations. While Princess Meritaten (daughter of Akhenaten & Nefertiti) may have resided there temporarily, but it wasn’t likely a full-time domestic residence like a proper palace, more so a retreat rather than a permeant household.
Reference to Mutbenret as “sister of the Great Royal Wife” comes from an inscription in the tomb of Meryre II at Tell el-Amarna; Tomb 7 in the southern group of Amarna’s private tombs. Meryre II was a Royal Scribe and Overseer of the House of the Great Royal Wife, serving Queen Nefertiti during the reign of Akhenaten.
Nefertiti, one of the most known figures of the ancient world. Her face is instantly recognisable, from Cairo to Berlin, alas, behind that famous visage lies a figure shrouded in mystery. Beyond the sculpted grace of surviving artworks, we know remarkably little. Her origins remain uncertain, her early life lost to time. We do not...
Amenhotep III and his Great Royal Wife, Tiye‘s firstborn son, was a prince named Thutmose. As the eldest royal son, he was heir to the throne, and so Thutmose bore prestigious titles such as High Priest of Ptah, indicating his early grooming for both religious and royal responsibilities. A carved statuette depicting him as a...
The wooden figure depicts a naked woman holding what is identified as a cat to her chest, though the animal’s form is somewhat indistinct. Though undated in the museum’s entry, the figure was acquired by the early 19th-century Scottish traveller and collector Robert Hay of Linplum, who amassed a substantial number of antiquities during his...
Despite the front of the statue having extensive damage, the back provides us with quite a bit of information about Minmose, thanks to the wonderful inscriptions having survived. Minmose’s primary titles reveal his close association with the cult of Osiris; the deity central to Egyptian beliefs about resurrection and the afterlife. He is described as...
Amenhotep III, often hailed as the Dazzling Sun King, was a monarch whose reign illuminated Egypt with an unparalleled splendour of construction and artistry. His legacy cast a long shadow, inspiring later pharaohs such as Ramesses the Great to emulate his grandeur. Colossal statues bearing his likeness once dominated the Egyptian horizon, while minute treasures...
This exquisite faience bowl (Met Museum. 26.7.905) stands as one of the more generous examples of its kind, often charmingly referred to as the “marsh bowl” or “nun-bowl”. Its outer surface is adorned with a radiant display of Egyptian blue lotus petals and sepals, whose natural purple speckles have been rendered as delicate painted dashes....
This exquisite composite statue element, dating to the early 18th Dynasty (c.1550–1425 B.C.), represents the iconic khepresh or blue crown of war, fashioned from siliceous earthenware and adorned with a copper alloy uraeus. Though the once-vivid blue of this piece has faded into a swampy green reminiscent of marsh waters, rather than the pure, life-giving...
This finely crafted statuette, carved from persea wood (Mimusops cf. laurifolia) and dating to the late 18th Dynasty (c. 1327–1295 B.C.), depicts a man in a composed striding pose. With one foot foward, he strides forth into eternity. Despite damaged, his refined image and the craftsmanship that went into creating this mini masterpiece is still...
