Nose and lips of Akhenaten

Period:: New Kingdom, Amarna Period

Dynasty:: Dynasty 18

Reign:: reign of Akhenaten

Date:: ca. 1353–1336 B.C.

Geography:: From Egypt, Middle Egypt, Amarna (Akhetaten), Great Temple of the Aten, pit outside southern wall, Petrie/Carter excavations, 1891–92

Medium:: Indurated limestone

Dimensions:: H. 8.1 cm (3 3/16 in.); W. 6.3 cm (2 1/2 in.); D. 5.5 cm (2 3/16 in.)

Credit Line:: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926

Accession Number:: 26.7.1395

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 121

Found in the dumps south of the Sanctuary of the Great Aten Temple or in the Sanctuary itself, this fragment is attributed to Akhenaten. The inner corner of one eye is visible alongside the nose.
Although there is little to distinguish many representations of the king and the queen, particularly relatively early in the Amarna years, the especially long line alongside the nose and lips and the sinuous upper lip support that identification.

Formerly Carnarvon collection. Purchased by the Museum from Almina, Countess of Carnarvon with funds from Edward S. Harkness, 1926. Previously excavated by Flinders Petrie and Howard Carter for Lord Amherst at Amarna, 1891-92. Received in the division of finds by Lord Amherst. Purchased by Carnarvon at the Amherst sale, 1921.

Posener, Georges 1959. Dictionnaire de la civilisation égyptienne. Paris: F. Hazan, p. 275.

Hibbard, Howard 1980. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Harper & Row, 45, fig. 84.

Timelines
Egypt, 2000–1000 B.C.

The Artist Project
The Artist Project: What Artists See When They Look At Art
The Royal Women of Amarna: Images of Beauty from Ancient Egypt
The Scepter of Egypt: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 2, The Hyksos Period and the New Kingdom (1675–1080 B.C.)

Department

Egyptian Art (27,379)

Object Type / Material

Geographic Location

Date / Era