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...
Triad family portrait of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and daughter holding handsNew Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1353-1336 B.C. King Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti are believed to have had at least six daughters together. They were: Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten (who changed her name Ankhesenamun and became the wife of her half brother Tutankhamun), Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and...
This talatat depicts two princesses of king Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti. Their youth is represented by the hairstyle Egyptologist’s have dubbed the ‘side lock of youth’, a plaited strand or strands of hair on an otherwise shaven head or short hairstyle. This piece was found among the foundations of the Pylon of Ramesses II...
“An illustrated cultural guide to the archaeological site of Amarna, the best-preserved pharaonic city in Egypt. Around three thousand years ago, the pharaoh Akhenaten turned his back on Amun, and most of the great gods of Egypt. Abandoning Thebes, he quickly built a grand new city in Middle Egypt, Akhetaten―Horizon of the Aten―devoted exclusively to...
This sandstone sunken relief of a woman dates from the Amarna Period, and it is easy to tell the era she is from due to the style in which she is depicted. The artistic manner is most definitely from the period of Akhenaten’s experimental reign, however, this piece was actually found in Thebes and not...
Parennefer was a close advisor to Prince Amenhotep IV (King Akhenaten), before he became king. Once Amenhotep IV, or rather, King Akhenaten, took the throne, Parennefer served as his personal Royal Butler, and worked closely as a confidant to the king. In the age of Akhenaten, it was Akhenaten who was the representation of Ma’at...
A head of king Akhenaten made from Egyptian jasper or porphyry. This head of Akhenaten is similar to portraits of the king that we believe come from early in his reign. The less exaggerated features of the soon-to-be “Amarna Period”, this serene, slight smile of the young king looks ahead, as he wears the blue...
Ushabti of king Akhenaten from Amarna (ancient Akhetaten – Akhenaten’s experimental ‘new capital’ that was dismantled upon his death. A Ushabti was a figurine representing the deceased that would help with duties in the Afterlife. A Ushabti (Egyptian: wšbtj or šwbtj) was a funerary figure in the form of the likeness of the deceased, and...
This perfume bottle, with a depiction of an Amarna princess stood upon a lotus blossom, is in the shape of a hes-vase. It is made from Egyptian alabaster, with an inlay of coloured glass, carnelian, obsidian and gold. A hes-vase is named after the “hes” hieroglyph. The hes-vase was used as a libation vessel, meaning,...
This limestone bust of an Amarna royal has never been officially identified, yet the Neues Museum in Berlin does display it with the title of Tutankhamun, which is a likely possibility, others propose that it may be the mysterious 18th Dynasty ruler Smenkhkare. Who it is depends on the scholar, and your own thoughts at...
