Nefertiti

Stele of Akhenaten and his family. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 44865

Stela of Akhenaten and his family

The limestone stela shows King Akhenaten and his family as a “Holy Family.” It is considered to be an icon and was intended to be kept in a private chapel of an Amarna house. The stele, topped by the cavetto cornice, is decorated with a scene of an intimate moment from the daily life of...

Great Hymn to the Aten

The Great Hymn to Aten is one of the most famous texts from Akhenaten’s reign. It describes Aten as the sole creator, sustainer of life, and a universal omnipresent deity, making it one of the earliest religious texts that resemble later monotheistic traditions. The hymn, inscribed in Akhenaten’s tomb at Tel el-Amarna, praises Aten as...

Unfinished head of Queen Nefertiti

Unfinished head of Nefertiti

This unfinished brown quartzite head of Queen Nefertiti, the beautiful wife of King Akhenaten was part of a composite statue. Each element was sculpted separately to be later assembled into one statue. As it remained unfinished, the head retained the guiding lines of the sculptor: the eyebrows were marked with brown and the eyes with...