Akhenaten’s devotion to the Aten was not just religious; it was artistic and philosophical. In hymns likely written or commissioned by the king himself, such as the Great Hymn to the Aten, Akhenaten exalts the sun’s warmth as the giver of all life, with language that reads more like sacred poetry than royal decree. This...
King Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV), often thought of as a dreamer-philosopher in a land of warrior-kings, cast aside the mighty pantheon of deities and raised his gaze to a single blazing sun: the Aten. With eyes wide to the heavens and feet planted in the desert dust, he declared a revolution not of armies, but of...
This head of an Amarna Period female royal was found within the remnants of the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose. Sculpted from quartz with traces of pigment upon the lips and eyes, the face is that of a young female, possibly and likely a daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, but there is a possibility it...
This small fragmentary head made from white limestone is clearly of the Amarna Period. During Akhenaten’s reign, royal portraiture witnessed significant changes., there are numerous sculptures of Akhenaten and his royal household which deviate from traditional depictions of the monarchy. Akhenaten is sometimes shown what some deem “androgynous” and highly stylized, with huge thighs, a...
Made of indurated limestone, this torso of Nefertiti was discovered in the remnants of the Sanctuary of the Great Aten Temple, possibly found within a pit just south of the temple, during the Petrie/Carter excavations, 1891–92. The statue would have been a part of a double statue depicting Nefertiti alongside her husband, king Akhenaten, making...
This plaster head depicts an Amarna royal, likely a king, and based upon resemblance it is even more likely to be a casting of king Akhenaten. The head is life-size, and measures at 20.5cm long, and 14.5cm wide, with a 13cm depth. If the head is of king Akhenaten, it could be from early in...
