ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Trial Piece

Place ExcavatedAmarna, Egypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodNew Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Reign of Akhenaten

Date1353-1336 BCE

MediumLimestone, pigment

Credit LineEgyptian Purchase Fund

Dimensions3 7/8 x 4 1/2 x 3/4 in. (9.8 x 11.4 x 1.9 cm)

Object number1998.010

Label TextThe "heretic" pharaoh Akhenaten and his queen, the famous Nefertiti, established a new capital at the site of Tell el-Amarna in Middle Egypt. His religious revolution, built around the worship of one god, the Aten, instigated an artistic revolution, and large numbers of artists were trained to work in the new style. This trial relief is a practice piece showing a deft hand in rendering the slanted almond-shaped eye typical of the period, and the simple sweep of the nose as contrasted with the elaborately curled wig. In order not to waste the stone, the artist used the reverse side to render a carving of a hand holding a fan.

Artists were often trained in royal workshops to work in the standard style of the period, but under Akhenaten they departed from the rigid conventions of the past and experimented with new art styles.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2001 - Present
Published ReferencesCharles Ede Ltd., Egyptian Sculpture XXV: Small Sculpture from Ancient Egypt (Undated), lot 6.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 18.

ProvenanceSaid to have been excavated by Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942), Tel el-Amarna, Egypt. Ex private collection, Netherlands, from early 20th Century. Purchased by MCCM from Charles Ede Ltd., London, England.

Status

On view

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