Fragment of stela with either Akhenaten or Nefertiti seatedNew Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1372-1355 B.C.Tel el-Amarna. House N.50.22.Formerly in Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum. 22264.Now in Kunsthistorisches Museum, Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung, Vienna. Inv. 8038.
Egyptian blue, also known as calcium copper silicate (CaCuSi4O10 or CaOCuO(SiO2)4 (calcium copper tetrasilicate)) or cuprorivaite, is a pigment that was used in Ancient Egypt for thousands of years. It is considered to be the first synthetic pigment. It was known to the Romans by the name caeruleum. After the Roman era, Egyptian blue fell...
Meketaten was born approximately in Year 4 of Akhenaten’s reign to him and his Great Royal Wife, Nefertiti. She had an elder sister, Meritaten, and four younger sisters: Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure and Setepenre. Tutankhaten was likely their full brother or half-brother through their father. The first known depiction of Meketaten is on the walls...
Gifted from the Egypt Exploration Society to the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, United States, this fragmentary piece of alabaster showcases the intricate skill of the artisans of the Amarna age. Despite only a fragment remaining, we can get a true insight into the beauty of the pleated royal linens worn during the New...
Limestone bust of Akhenaten from Tel el-Amarna (ancient Akhetaten) New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Akhenaten, c. 1352-1335 B.C. Musée du Louvre. E 11076
“… As my heart is sweetened Over the king’s wife, over her children, That old age be granted to the great king’s wife Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, granted life eternally, In this million years, While she is under the hand of Pharaoh, may he live, prosper and be well, And old age be granted to the king’s...
The mummified skull of Amenhotep III, photographed by Grafton Elliot Smith in 1912. Originally buried in WV22 (Valley of the Kings), Amenhotep III’s mummy was moved in ancient times to Tomb KV35, the tomb of Amenhotep II, which was used by Egyptian priests around the Third Intermediate Period as a royal “mummy” cache (storage). Tomb...
This plaster face of an elderly face was discovered in Tell el-Amarna, the location of king Akhenaten’s experimental capital city of Akhetaten. Within this city was discovered a workshop belonging to the “king’s favourite” sculptor, a man by the name of Thutmose. It was of the remnants of this workshop where the world-famous, objectively breathtaking...
Inlay face of a princess, possibly Meritaten, made from opaque turquoise-blue glassNew Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1351–1334 B.C.Tel el-Amarna.British Museum. EA54264 Meritaten, also spelled Merytaten, Meritaton or Meryetaten (Ancient Egyptian: mrii.t-itn), was an ancient Egyptian royal woman of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Her name means “She who is beloved of Aten“; Aten being the...
These talatats (stone fragments) show an Amarna Period scene of Nefertiti within a kiosk upon a royal barge smiting an enemy of Egypt. Usually this pose would be reserved for the king alone, however, as we can see, Nefertiti is clearly depicted in such a position, representing her status at the time of this images’...
