Unknown Amarna royal

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 the present!

Discovered in Amarna (Ancient Akhetaten), it is from the workshop of Thutmose (Tel el-Amarna), the sculptor of the bust of Nefertiti, and the royal favourite sculptor.

The bust, as already stated, is made from limestone, and traces of red and black pigment remains. It depicts a king from the late Amarna period, seeming in his youth, which is likely why it is associated with the “Boy King”, king Tutankhamun. The royal headband around his head indicates his royal status, and would have been the trimmings of a crown.

Overall, the piece measures at 21.5cm.

Three black, curved lines mark the usekh collar, and red paint residue in some spots suggests that chain links were also represented.

Related: Egyptian-Alabaster Canopic jar of a queen

Summary:

Sculpture of unknown Amarna royal.
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, Amarna Period, c. 1352-1323 B.C.
From Tel el-Amarna.
Ägyptisches Museum. ÄM 20496