ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art
Tutankhamun as a Child
AAT Object Form/Functionsculpture (visual works)
AAT Object Form/Functionportraits
Place CreatedEgypt, Africa
CultureEgyptian
Date1333-1324 BCE
MediumFrit ("Egyptian blue")
Credit LineMohamed Farid Khamis/Oriental Weavers Fund
Dimensions7/8 x 1/2 x 1/2 in. (2.2 x 1.3 x 1.3 cm)
Object number2004.039.001
Label TextThis remarkable and tiny sculpture represents the boy king Tutankhamun as a child. He wears a pharaoh's blue crown and holds a finger to his mouth, an Egyptian motif indicating his youth. A famous example in solid gold was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun showing him with a blue crown and also sucking his finger. The representation may well be a hold-over from the Amarna Period when images of the royal offspring took the place of other divine images to symbolize rebirth. Egyptian blue is a glass frit, lying between faience and true glass in composition and structure. It was occasionally used for small sculptures, but was most frequently ground up and used as a blue pigment.Exhibition HistoryFrom Pharaohs to Emperors: New Egyptian and Classical Antiquities at Emory, Michael C. Carlos Museum, January 14 - April 2, 2006
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, 2006 - Present
Published ReferencesPeter Lacovara and Jasper Gaunt, "From Pharaohs to Emperors: Egyptian, Near Eastern & Classical Antiquities at Emory," Minerva 17 (January/February 2006): 9-16.
Emory Report 62 (September 21, 2009).
ProvenanceEx private collection, Europe. With Charles Ede Ltd., London, England, purchased from Christie's New York, December 5-6, 2001, lot 213. Purchased by MCCM from Ede.
Status
On viewCollections
- Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art
ca. 1334-1324 BCE
1353-1336 BCE
1076-944 BCE
282-246 BCE
1353-1336 BCE
2nd Century CE
722-332 BCE
1539-1292 BCE
1076-944 BCE
305-30 BCE
305-30 BCE