ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Relief of Akhenaten Offering Incense to the Aten

Place CreatedAmarna, Egypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodNew Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Reign of Akhenaten

Date1353-1336 BCE

MediumLimestone

Credit LineGift of the Morgens West Foundation in honor of Peter Lacovara

Dimensions8 5/16 x 8 7/8 in. (21.2 x 22.5 cm)

Object number2015.033.001

Label TextThis relief of Akhenaten is one of a handful of fragments that came from a building at Tell el-Amarna named "Strong of the Living Aten". Carved in sunk relief, Akhenaten offers incense in a censer with a falcon-headed terminal. He wears the Blue Crown with ribbons that flutter outwards from the back. Rays from the solar god Aten pass behind his crown, and one holds an ankh sign, the hieroglyphic sign for life. Akhenaten's pendulous chin, thick lips, slanted eyes, and spindly neck probably do not reflect reality. Instead, his features symbolize his uniqueness as the son and chief priest of the Aten. The style of relief indicates the block was carved late in the Akhenaten's reign.|

Above the king are the remains of hieroglyphs which refer to a recently discovered solar shrine complex named the "Strong of the [Living] Aten" at the site of Kom el-Nana, south of the main city of Tell el-Amarna. Evidence points to the shrine's function as a place where Akhenaten provided incense and libation offerings for the spirits of the dead. The Sunshade Temple of Re (dedicated to Nefertiti) was also part of this complex, which associated the queen's rebirth with the continuity of the cosmos.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, April 11, 2016 - Present
Published ReferencesChristie's London, Antiquities (1 October 2015), 113, lot 167.

ProvenanceEx private collection, Rotterdam, Netherlands, acquired from Spink & Son, London, England, March 1961. Thence by descent. Purchased by MCCM from Christie's London, October 1, 2015, lot 67.

Status

On view

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