The Art of the Amarna Period

The entry for this week is written by Shirley Jones and Carolyn Harries, two Egypt Centre Volunteers and Education Leaders who have previously contributed to this blog.

In this week’s session, we discussed the revolution in art and sculpture during the Amarna Period of Egyptian history. Already during the reign of Amenhotep III, artists had begun to portray human figures and the natural world in a more realistic way. During the reign of Amenhotep IV, later to become Akhenaten, and his consort Nefertiti, this creativity flourished. However, as we know, it was accompanied by a religious revolution where the traditional state gods were abandoned in favour of the “Aten” or sun-disc. These two aspects of Akhenaten’s reign appear to be quite closely related.

Fig. 1: Early depiction of Amenhotep IV in the tomb of Ramose (Davies 1941, pl. 29)

Akhenaten’s reign began fairly inauspiciously, but by his second regnal year some changes became apparent both in art and in religion. Traditional subjects began to disappear from temples and tomb decoration. Early images of Akhenaten appear “normal” in the sense that he is portrayed in style and adornment as were his predecessors (fig. 1). However, from year two of his reign, he is increasingly shown with the long narrow face, hollow eyes, swollen stomach, sensuous hips, and pendulous breasts that we have come to expect from his portraiture and sculpture (fig. 2). This came to be known as the Amarna style and was mirrored to some extent in the paintings and statues of the other members of the royal court. The earliest work was most pronounced in its distortion and exaggeration of features and led the German archaeologist Walter Wolf describing it as a “sick ugliness and nervous decadence” (Hornung 2001, 43). Strong words indeed!

Fig. 2: Colossal head of Akhenaten

So, what led this Pharaoh of the late Eighteenth Dynasty do to cast aside the long-standing traditions and basic principles of Egyptian Art? The answer, if there is one, cannot be separated from the new, somewhat heretical focus on the single deity of the Aten, the sun-disc, and its life-giving rays. As the king, Akhenaten’s decision to worship one particular god had a major impact on everything, art and artists included. This new religious thinking altered traditional funerary customs and consideration of conventional gods. Akhenaten clearly wanted his new religion to be given prominence and over a period of time images of the myriad Egyptian gods were replaced by images of Akhenaten and his family worshipping the Aten. However, it must be acknowledged that the old gods did not disappear completely from art. Bes and Tawaret in particular are still to be found on amulets and other adornment (fig. 3).

Fig. 3: Amulet of Bes (W961p)

In artistic terms, the new style could be described as perceptual as opposed to the earlier style which was more conceptual. Topics were now drawn from a contemporary world rather than an imaginary one, and new ways of portraying reality were introduced. This was very unusual, almost unheard of at the time. The basic principles of Egyptian art had previously been regarded as given by the gods, thus perfect and impervious to change even by the Pharaoh. Now, however, the old gods had been banished and as religion changed so did the art. The natural world was more faithfully represented with some thought to three-dimensional space. The “new” art portrayed ever more realistic images, such as the baking of bread and the preparation of food offerings (fig. 4). Representations of the king and his family are more domestic in nature; the king and queen playing with their daughters, which are much more informal depictions showing their love and intimacy. In one relief, the royal couple are mourning the death of their daughter Meketaten (Martin 1989, fig. 7). While mourning scenes are not uncommon in Egyptian art, what is unusual is for the royal family to be portrayed in this way. The whole scene expresses grief and emotion not generally represented in Egyptian art.

Fig. 4: Talatat blocks

However, this very different way of representing Akhenaten and his family does raise certain questions. Their rather strange appearance for one. Was Akhenaten actually “living in truth”, as has been stated? Did they really look like this, with elongated features and distended stomachs or was this a stylistic invention to distinguish them from previous royalty and help to associate them with the new deity the Aten? It seems the images of both Akhenaten and Nefertiti change over time. Starting out normal, becoming very distorted, and then gradually less so, although Akhenaten remained a fairly androgynous figure. Was he trying to demonstrate the genderless nature of the Aten, neither male nor female but the source of all life (fig. 5)? Was he expressing his own creativity and way of seeing things? Bak, the king’s sculptor, is reported to have said that was the king himself who taught him how employ their craft. Was he being literal? Was he flattering Akhenaten or was he simply stating that he had been instructed to create the images in a certain style? More questions than answers.

Fig. 5: The so-called asexual statue of Akhenaten

It would appear that Akhenaten had considerable control over what was produced and how it was expressed. Therefore, was this simply a different way of controlling the art and statuary of the time? Perhaps this new expressionist style was Akhenaten’s way of making a sacred statement, of expressing his relationship with his god. One thing seems clear during the Amarna Period, artists appeared to have much more freedom to express their creativity. Under Akhenaten they were encouraged to portray fluidity, shape, and emphasise physical imperfections, to show things as they were and to “live in truth”. Obviously, this did not happen overnight and the beginnings of the naturalism we see in this period must have had their genesis much earlier in the Dynasty. Nevertheless, we see this relaxed style becoming more obvious in Akhenaten’s reign possibly due to the absence of traditional subject matter.

Fig. 6: Broad collar (W10)

The artefacts from the museum that we handled this week and have handled throughout the course certainly show the skill and the originality of the artists of the time. We examined one of the four Broad Collars (W10) from the Lady Berens collection, which is believed to have belonged to the Amarna princesses and it is obviously child sized (fig. 6). The collar has an assortment of pendant amulets, notably a heart and a squatting figure that are associated with funerary practices (Bosse-Griffiths 2001). The squatting figure wears a sidelock, and the finger to the mouth suggests childhood and thus rebirth. The design is quite intricate, such a lovely object to accompany a child into the afterlife.

Fig. 7: Fish-shaped dish (W1269)

The most unusual objects we examined were four fragments (W230d, W1268–70) of household dishes in the shape of fish (fig. 7). The fragments, which are made of faience and were beautifully painted, originate from the excavations of the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) and the collection of Richard Bethell. We could see quite clearly the fish scales and a solitary ‘fishy’ eye staring up at us. One fragment even contained the tail fin and two of the pieces had concave undersides. Shallow, open fish-shaped dishes were known as early as the Middle Kingdom. It has also been suggested that fish-shaped bowls served as ointment dishes, with the Egypt Centre having several on display.

Fig. 8: Lute-player bezel (W1150)

For us, the most beautiful piece and one which clearly demonstrated the skill of the craftsmen and artists of the time was the ring bezel (W1150) with a lute player and a monkey, which was excavated by the EES during the 1926–27 season (fig. 8). Apparently, this motif of a musician with lute is rare but not unique at Amarna (Graves-Brown 2014). Music was associated with offerings to the king and the sexualised nature of this female musician (she is quite naked) is suggestive of revivification. Monkeys are associated with music and dance as well as female sexuality. Such a tiny thing, but so charmingly crafted!

Bibliography:

Bosse-Griffiths, K. (2001). Bead collars with Amarna amulets in the Wellcome Collection of the University College, Swansea. In J. G. Griffiths (Ed.), Amarna Studies and other Selected Papers (pp. 27–30). Freiburg (Schweiz); Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Davies, N. de G. (1941). The tomb of the vizier Ramose. MET 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

Freed, R. E., Markowitz, Y., & D’Auria, S. H. (Eds.). (1999). Pharaohs of the sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts.

Graves-Brown, C. (2014). A gazelle, a lute player and Bes: three ring bezels from Amarna. In A. M. Dodson, J. J. Johnston, & W. Monkhouse (Eds.), A good scribe and an exceedingly wise man: studies in honour of W. J. Tait (pp. 113–126). London: Golden House Publications.

Hornung, E. (2001). Akhenaten and the religion of light (D. Lorton, Trans.). London: Cornell University Press.

Martin, G. T. (1989). The royal tomb at el-Amarna II: the rock tombs of El-Amarna, part VII: the reliefs, inscriptions and architecture. Archaeological Survey of Egypt 39. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

Robins, G. (2000). The art of ancient Egypt. London: The British Museum Press.

Religion at Amarna

Hello, I’m Teresa Davison, a retired teacher and volunteer at the Egypt Centre. This is my second course run by Dr Ken Griffin. This week’s topic was on religion in the Amarna Period.

Was Akhenaten the world’s first monotheist? Was he a visionary or a heretic? An understanding of Akhenaten’s view of the Aten is fundamental in trying to comprehend the Amarna Period. Atenism originates out of the solar tradition, especially that of the sun-god Re. The Great Hymn to the Aten from the tomb of Ay shows that the King “teaches” it to his followers. Who was the Aten? The didactic name was the “Living-one, Re-Horakhty, who rejoices in the horizon in his name of Shu (“light”), who is the Aten”. The later dogmatic name became “Living-one, Re, ruler of the two horizons, who rejoices in the horizon in his name a Re, the father who returns as Aten” (fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Early depiction of the Aten

The nature of the Aten was that there was universal rule, including over foreign lands. All things are accessible, as indicated by the hands at the ends of the rays of the Aten (fig. 2). The Aten was a genderless creator god, who was silent and passive. As the sun appeared each day and its presence was certain and secure, did it need to communicate with the people? This was dramatic and life-changing in the way in which people worshipped as previously Amun had been accessible through cult processions and spoke through oracles and texts.

Fig. 2: Akhenaten and Nefertiti under the rays of the Aten

Was Atenism the first world example of monotheism? There are a number of definitions. Henotheism can be classed as the devotion to a single deity whilst accepting the existence and worship of others. Monolatrism recognises other deities but only one is worthy of worship. Monotheism is the absolute belief that there is only one deity, all others are excluded. It would appear that all three of these held sway at different times during the Amarna Period. So what role did the king play? Akhenaten was the sole mediator between the people and the Aten. Personal piety had to be expressed through loyalty shown to the king, not via worship of the gods. As a result of his role as an intermediary, Akhenaten essentially becomes a deity. Tomb inscriptions are virtual hymns to the king. A hierarchy of worship develops as Akhenaten gives offerings and libations to the Aten, people give offerings to Akhenaten, so private individuals in effect worship the King (fig. 3). Private individuals are rarely seen worshipping the Aten, if ever. Triads are common throughout Egyptian religion. Nefertiti, Akhenaten, and the Aten form a triad that can be compared to Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. Nefertiti is equal in divinity and rank as Akhenaten. She represents the female principle and is seen as a goddess.

Fig. 3: Lintel of Hatiay (after Kemp 2013, pl. XXX)

The new religion must have been deeply and profoundly shocking to a populace that was embedded in a polytheistic culture. This was a culture that evolved over thousands of years and it was now being forcibly cast aside. It was such an intrinsic part of everyday life and daily ritual. The change was radical and aggressive. Images of all other gods were hacked off monuments and stelae, even those that were over twenty metres in height (fig. 4). “Tradition was not questioned, it was persecuted and forbidden”, according to Jan Assmann (2001, 199).

Fig. 4: Erased and restored figure and name of Amun-Re

So what was the role of private religion? Was personal piety expressed through Akhenaten actually the case? Personal names show devotion to the Aten. E.g., Nakhtpaaten, “The Aten is strong”. However, there is evidence that devotion to other deities can still be seen in names, such as Thutmose, “born of Thoth”. Houses had lintels that depicted adoring royal cartouches. Interestingly, cartouches were used and not images of the royal family (Spieser 2010). Many of the elite houses had private chapels in their gardens, whilst some had chapels inside their houses. It is uncertain as to whether these were for ancestor or royal family worship. In the workmen’s village there is a stela depicting Shed, who was a protector god against scorpions and other dangerous animals, and Isis (fig. 5). Was this “banned” worship tolerated or was it unknown to the authorities as it was in private households?

Fig. 5: Stela of Ptahmay depicting Shed and Isis

One very distinct form was the intimate and family-friendly images of the royal family; they almost look like modern day family photos. The level of affection shown by Akhenaten and Nefertiti towards their children is heart-warming and truly radical compared to the very static images shown in all other periods of ancient Egypt (Riefling 2013). Faces are expressive and dynamic. In one image, Akhenaten is seen kissing his daughter and in another a child has her hand under Nefertiti’s chin (fig. 6). But was the Aten Amenhotep III? A rare stela in the British Museum (BM EA 57399), which was excavated in the house of Panehsy, depicts him and Queen Tiye under the rays of the Aten above. His Nebmaatre name was used as Amun was abolished by then. Was Amenhotep III still alive when the stela was commission or is it an example of ancestor worship?

Fig. 6: Household stela depicting the royal family

Other stelae show the worship of other gods, such as Tawaret, which shows clear evidence of personal piety at Amarna. Other evidence of devotion away from the “state-endorsed” religion include covered chapels, which appears diametrically opposed to the open nature of the official temples, which unlike those of the “old religion” were open to the sun. There is a good deal of evidence for the worship of Bes and Tawaret, but also to other gods like Wepwawet and Hathor. This week we had the opportunity to take a closer look at W9 (fig. 7), a broad collar with a central amulet of the goddess Beset, the female form of Bes (Bosse-Griffiths 1977).

Fig. 7: Broad collar with Beset amulet (W9)

In conclusion, this must have been a turbulent and confusing time to live. If a person wanted to stay in the good graces of the Royal Family, then they will have needed to show devotion to Akhenaten and Nefertiti. As the old religion was so culturally embedded, private individuals and families continued to worship the old gods, albeit in the privacy of their homes or under the pretext of chapels for ancestor worship? An interesting aspect of this time is the “cult of the family” that seems to have developed with the adoration of the royal family in a new intimate and affectionate way. Perhaps this was a compensation for not being able to worship the usual pantheon of gods. Some have suggested that Akhenaten was the first monotheist and this may well have been true (Hoffmeier, 2015). However, it seems that this radical change was too dramatic for most ancient Egyptians and this religious experiment failed.

Bibliography:

Assmann, J. (2001) The search for God in ancient Egypt. Translated by D. Lorton. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Bosse-Griffiths, K. (1977) ‘A Beset amulet from the Amarna Period’. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 63: 98–106.

Freed, R. E., Y. Markowitz, and S. H. D’Auria eds. (1999) Pharaohs of the sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts.

Hoffmeier, J. K. (2015) Akhenaten and the origins of monotheism. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.

Kemp, B. J. (2013) The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. London: Thames & Hudson.

Riefling, B. (2013) ‘Rekonstruktionsversuche von Amarna-Flachbildern: I. Die Familienstele Louvre E.11624; II. Die Halskragenstele Berlin ÄM 14511’. Göttinger Miszellen 239: 81–90.

Spieser, C. (2010) ‘Cartouche’. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Version 1, January 2010. 1–10. Available from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3g726122.

Stevens, A. (2006) Private religion at Amarna. BAR International Series 1587. Oxford: Archaeopress.

The City of Akhetaten

The blog post for this week is written by Nick Mascall, an Egypt Centre volunteer with a keen interest in the Amarna Period.

In year 5 of his reign, Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten and commissioned many boundary stelae to mark out the formal borders of Akhetaten, his new capital city dedicated to the Aten. These stelae define a rough square with sides of about 20 km (about 12.5 miles) straddling the Nile halfway between Luxor to the south (the traditional religious capital) and Memphis to the north (the traditional administrative capital). Akhenaten claimed that the Aten itself selected the site, which had never held a temple to any other god, or been part of a temple estate, or owned by anyone except, ultimately, the king himself. Many suspect that the deciding factor was the way the mouth of the largest wadi (valley) in the eastern cliffs behind the site framed the rising sun, and reproduced the hieroglyph akhet—the horizon, or portal, and a symbol of rebirth. This wadi would become the site of the royal tombs.

Fig. 1: Painted plaster from the North Riverside Palace (W797)

Royal tombs were one of many things Akhenaten announced that he was going to build here, including two royal residences; one for the Pharaoh, one for the “Great Royal Consort”—which raises interesting questions about the domestic arrangements of the royal family. Other buildings are given portentous but (to our eyes) ambiguous titles, and seem to include what we now call the Great and Small Aten Temples, several others which have not to date been excavated or conclusively identified, and a “Sunshade” for the Great Royal Consort Nefertiti. “Sunshades”, their nature, identity and locations, are among the most contentious topics of Amarna scholarship (which is saying a lot). Apart from the boundary stelae, all the known remains of the city and its many outlying sites are in the desert bay on the eastern bank, surrounded by a wall of cliffs and steep slopes pierced in places by wadi mouths. The known tombs (less than 30) of the city’s elite are cut into this natural barrier in two groups, north and south, and the scenes on their walls are one of the richest resources we have regarding the appearance of the city and its buildings, and the daily lives of its inhabitants.

Fig. 2: Painted plaster from the North Riverside Palace (W801)

The city itself and its major outliers are arranged in a north-south strip along or not far from the river bank, connected by the broad and mainly straight “Royal Road” (a modern name), along which the royal family and the city’s elite rode in two-horse chariots, accompanied by running escorts (fig. 3). The “Central City” contained the gigantic Great Palace (about 200 x 580 metres), the “King’s House”, the two Aten Temples, and offices, storehouses, workplaces and barracks—all government buildings, including the “House of Life” and the so-called Records Office where the tablets known as the Amarna Letters were found. It also had streets of small and medium sized houses for clerks, mid-level government officials and perhaps junior priests and temple servants. Amazingly, almost all of this housing was built, occupied and then demolished and rebuilt on a slightly different alignment. You might be forgiven for thinking that Akhenaten’s builders had too much time on their hands, but there is a small mountain of evidence to show that this was definitely not the case.

Fig. 3: Chariot scene from the tomb of Meryre

The rest of the city consists mainly of housing—many small, closely clustered houses for poor people, and some large houses in large compounds for the elite. Interestingly, if you plot house size against frequency the result is a fairly smooth slope, rather than the stairstep pattern you might expect from a rigidly hierarchical social organisation. Social mobility of a sort seems to have existed at Amarna, and several of the tomb-wall texts praise the king for being willing to promote ‘from the lowest ranks’ on the basis of ability. On the other hand, those texts are also the most concentrated outpouring of extravagant and largely formal flattery which I have ever read.

Fig. 4: Painted plaster from the North Riverside Palace (W808)

Houses also appear to be loosely organised in quasi-feudal clusters, with a large house in a large compound bordered by smaller but still prestigious houses (for upper servants and estate officials?), and then by many smaller houses for the family workforce. All are built of sun-dried mudbricks conforming more or less closely to a standard size, with some stone fittings—more in the higher-status houses. Though it may seem primitive and impermanent, mudbrick works well in the Egyptian climate to this day, is easy and cheap to make, and lends itself to very fast construction. In ancient Egypt, it was used to construct almost every kind of building, excepting high-status tombs and temples, which were built from stone because they were intended to last for all eternity. Curiously and unusually, the main ceremonial parts of the Great Palace were also built of stone, whereas the other two identified palaces at Amarna were built in mudbrick, as usual.

Fig. 5: Painted plaster from the North Riverside Palace, depicting the elbow of the Pharaoh (W02)

Regarding these two other palaces, the North Riverside Palace, lying near the northern extremity of the site, is widely thought to have been where the royal family lived day-to-day, though very little of it survived to be excavated. We have in the Egypt Centre collection a fair selection of painted plaster fragments from its decoration, some of which were brought out for the handling session (figs. 1–2, 4–5). It was a revelation to see these under better lighting, even though I’ve been looking at some of them every week for years now since they are on display in the Amarna case in the House of Life. The other known palace is the North Palace, lying between the North Riverside Palace and the city’s North Suburb (fig. 6). This modest structure (a mere 112 x 142 metres) was clearly intended for the use of a single member of the royal family, perhaps Kiya (a subsidiary royal wife) and then Meritaten, the eldest princess and future queen. As a whole, it is one of the most complete and easily readable plans we have for a New Kingdom palace.

Fig. 6: Reconstruction of the chapel T36.11 at Amarna (by Nick Mascall) 

This unavoidably brief account cannot begin to do justice to the scope, variety and richness of the site. It is not just the most complete and accessible ancient Egyptian city that survives, but because it was built, occupied, and abandoned within 15 to 20 years it is an archaeological snapshot of a New Kingdom city, far easier to interpret than most other such sites that have been overbuilt again and again over millennia. That it was also the centre of one of the most remarkable episodes in Egyptian and world history is just the icing on the cake.

Readers to this blog may be interested in supporting the Amarna Project by donating to their gofundme page, which includes the opportunity to have your name written on a block within the Great Aten Temple!

Bibliography:

Bomann, A. H. (1991) The private chapel in ancient Egypt: a study of the chapels in the Workmen’s Village at El Amarna with special reference to Deir el Medina and other sites. Studies in Egyptology. London; New York: Kegan Paul International Ltd.

Frankfort, H. and J. D. S. Pendlebury (1933) The city of Akhenaten. Part II: The north suburb and the desert altars. The excavations at Tell el Amarna during the seasons 1926–1932. MEES 40. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

Kemp, B. J. (2013) The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People. London: Thames & Hudson.

Pendlebury, J. D. S. (1951) The City of Akhenaten. Part III: The Central City and the Official Quarters. The Excavations at Tell el-Amarna during the Season 1926–1927 and 1931–1936. 2 vols. ExcMem 44. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

Wegner, J. (2017) The Sunshade Chapel of Meritaten from the House-of-Waenre of Akhenaten. University Museum monograph 144. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Williamson, J. (2016). Nefertiti’s sun temple: a new cult complex at Tell el-Amarna, 2 vols. Harvard Egyptological Studies 2. Leiden; Boston: Brill.

The Mysterious World of Akhenaten

The blog post for this week is written by Marlene McGairl, an Egypt Centre volunteer for over twenty years.

Amenhotep IV, son of Amenhotep III and Tiye, ruled Egypt in the Eighteenth Dynasty. He was a mysterious person known as the “Heretic”. He was strange in his activities and his appearance. Depictions of him in sculpture show him in a hideous, exaggerate style, with long, sharp features and curious feminine characteristics–large hips and bosom (fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Statue of Akhenaten in Luxor Museum

In year 5, he changed his name to Akhenaten and began abolishing the cult of Amun. For political and religious reasons he gave pre-eminence to the cult and worship of the sun-disc, Aten. He founded Akhetaten, the present day Tell el-Amarna. Here, together with his wife Nefertiti and six daughters, he celebrated the cult of the Aten. A new aspect of the Aten is shown with the rays of the sun, each ending in hands which give life to the King (fig. 2). He called himself the First Prophet of Re-Horakhty. After this, he unleashed a violent offensive against most of the gods of Egypt, especially Amun, the “Hidden One”, and his associated deities. He dispatched teams of workmen to disfigure the statues of deities and to hammer out and erase every mention of the word “god” in the plural.

Fig. 2: The royal family offering to the Aten

Akhenaten was fond of his family, with the “Window of Appearance” being a common motif in which the King, Nefertiti, and sometimes their daughters show themselves to the populace and distribute gold rings to deserving favourites below. The beautiful relief in the tomb of Meryre at Amarna depicts the royal family riding in their chariots (fig. 3). Incidentally, from the time of Amenhotep III, customs decreed that only princesses were to be given prominence. It was rare to find even a mention of the prince who was to become Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten. For the moment there was only one god: “Sole Lord, taking capture of all lands every day. As one, beholding those that walk therein”.

Fig. 3: The royal family in their chariots at Amarna

The objects examined this week related to the reigns of Amenhotep III and Akhenaten. Two of them have already been highlighted in this blog and so only require a brief comment. W154 is a fragment of sandstone, originally part of a statue depicting Akhenaten carrying an offering tray. VAD29 is a turquoise blue faience ring bezel with the name of Akhenaten, which was excavated by the EES at Amarna. The earliest object (W230c) we examined contained part of the name Nebmaatre (Amenhotep III), which has a beautiful blue faience paste set within a white matrix (fig. 4). We discussed possible uses for this object, without coming to any conclusion. While it is slightly curved at the back, the curvature does not seem to suggest that it was part of a kohl tube, like other known examples. We know the object was purchased by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1924 from the collection of Richard Bethell, who featured in week 1 of this course. However, the object can perhaps be traced further back to the collection of the Reverend William MacGregor on account of the number (1465) written on the side.

Fig. 4: Faience inlay with the cartouche of Amenhotep III (W230c)

W960 is three fragments of an amphora glued together, which have a wine docket inscribed upon them in hieratic. The inscription apparently reads as “Year 12, (sweet) wine of the house [i.e. estate] of … of the Western River, vineyard supervisor…” (fig. 5). It is likely that this object was excavated by the EES at Amarna, although it has not been linked to the find slips thus far. It is interesting that this wine was produced in year 12 of Akhenaten’s reign since we know that he celebrated his great “Durbar”. During this time, many foreign dignitaries visited Egypt, with copious amounts of wine clearly being drunk. In fact, many wine dockets dating to year 12 are known from Amarna (Wahlberg 2011).

Fig. 5: Wine docket dating to year 12 (W960)

The final object for discussion was the second of four broad collars in the collection, all of which were purchased by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1923 from the collection of Ellinor Frances Berens. In week one of this course, we examined the first of these collars, W11. These collars were allegedly found at Amarna during the 1880s, when the royal tombs were looted by locals. W8 consists of five rows of multi-coloured beads of different types, ending at the front with hanging amulets. The forms derived from flowers (rosettes, cornflowers, lotus-seed vessels, nasturtium seeds); from the animal world (fish baboon, heart, eye); the divine (goddesses holding papyrus sceptres, Bes, and Taweret); and inanimate objects (feather, fan, drop beads, bulla-vessel). Bosse Griffiths (2001, 29) noted that the careful selection of amulets suggests strongly that the collars were destined for the burial of a girl, possibly a princess. To judge from their shape, they lie best in a half circle, as if to be lain on top of the breast of a mummy.

Fig. 6: Broad collar (W8)

Bibliography:

Bosse-Griffiths, K. (2001) ‘Bead collars with Amarna amulets in the Wellcome Collection of the University College, Swansea’. In Amarna Studies and other Selected Papers, ed. J. G. Griffiths. Freiburg (Schweiz); Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 27–30.

Redford, D. B. (1984) Akhenaten: The heretic king. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Reeves, N. (2001) Akhenaten: Egypt’s false prophet. London: Thames & Hudson.

Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge (1924) Catalogue of Egyptian, Greek, Roman & Babylonian antiquities, etc., comprising first and second day’s sale the collection of Egyptian antiquities, formed by the Hon. R. Bethell, third day’s sale the property of Captain Anthony Hamilton ..., part of the collection formed by the late Gustave Natorp, an Egyptian bronze solar boat for processional use, the collection formed by the late Joseph Offord, the property of H. Edwin, a bronze head of Athena wearing helmet, the property of Edward F. Elton and other properties; which will be sold by auction by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge ... on Monday, 15th of December, 1924, and two following days. London: Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge.

Wahlberg, E.-L. (2012) The wine jars speak. A text study. MA Thesis, Uppsala. Available at: http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:528049/FULLTEXT01.pdf.

The Rediscovery of Amarna: Early explorers, Explosions, and Really Big Pots!

The post for this week is written by Sam Powell, an MA student of Egyptology and an Egypt Centre volunteer, who has previously contributed to this blog.

For week two of the Amarna handling class, we looked at the rediscovery of Amarna, including early visitors and the various excavations that have taken place at the site. I was fascinated to see the differing interpretations of Amarna depending on the interpreter and the assumptions made; for example, one of the earliest European explorers Claude Sicard (1677–1726) viewed the images of Akhenaten and Nefertiti on the boundary stela at Tuna el-Gebel as priests due to his religious background.

Fig. 1: Faience bead (AB70)

We had the opportunity to look at several objects this week, including a faience bead in the form of a double cartouche of Akhenaten (AB70), a flint sickle blade (W1380), some Amarna pottery (EC214 and W176c–d), and a very unusual item (W1077a) that proved to be the favourite of both classes. The faience bead was found by Petrie at Abydos in 1901–1902, with a more complete parallel in the Art Institute of Chicago (X38).

Fig. 2: Flint from a sickle blade (W1380)

W1077a, which is shaped like a giant acorn, is made of pottery. It is slightly damaged at the “stem” and is embossed with a raised pattern. My group had a lot of fun guessing the possible uses of the object (although those in the group who volunteer in the Egypt Centre already knew the answer since we have two on display in the House of Life!). The item is actually thought to be a “hand grenade” dating to the time of the Crusades (Avissar & Stern 2005, 119–121). The vessels would be filled with “Greek fire” before being utilised. At least two of these grenades were found at Amarna by the Egypt Exploration Society.

Fig. 3: Grenade (W1077a)

My favourite objects were definitely the examples of “Palace ware” or “Festival ware” (EC214 and W176c–d). We have quite a few examples of this in the Egypt Centre collection. I’ve become a fan of this particular pottery type in the last few months whilst helping in the stores and spending some time with W193. Back in September 2019, I assisted with the moving the vessel to the new store (see the blog post by Molly Osborne). I was also on site when Phil Parkes and Ashley Lingle-Meeklah from Cardiff University came to assess the vessel for potential conservation. Ashley returned last Friday (31 January) to treat the vessel before transporting it to Cardiff University’s conservation labs where it will be desalinated to remove the build-up of salt on the vessel. She made a fantastic time-lapse video of the process and will be providing us with regular updates—although seeing it dismantled does make me feel a bit ill after we carefully transported it across campus!

Fig. 4: Examining some blue-painted pottery (W176c–d)

The pieces we looked at this week were really beautiful despite their fragmentary form (some of the vessels were huge given the circumference suggested by the sherds), and the colours must have been magnificent when originally painted. The typical colours used are cobalt blue, red, and black, and typically include designs and motifs that reflect nature. This type of pottery has been suggested as being produced at royal residences, or as being made specifically for use during festivals.

Fig. 5: Blue-painted pottery from Amarna (W176c–d)

As always, I am very grateful for the opportunity to include object handling in these classes. It really helps to bring the past to life and allows you to feel connected to the time period you are studying. Thank you once again to the Egypt Centre for these fantastic sessions.

Bibliography:

Avissar, M. and E. J. Stern (2005) Pottery of the Crusader, Ayyubid and Mamluk periods in Israel. Israel Antiquities Authority Reports 26. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority.

 Hope, C. A. (1991) ‘Blue-painted and polychrome decorated pottery from Amarna’. Cahiers de la céramique égyptienne 2: 105–118.

——— (1991) ‘Blue-painted and polychrome decorated pottery from Amarna: a preliminary corpus’. Cahiers de la céramique égyptienne 2: 17–93.

The Amarna Period through the Egypt Centre Collection

This past Thursday, I started my new course entitled The Amarna Period through the Egypt Centre. The ten-week course consists of PowerPoint lectures (first hour) briefly summarising the various aspects of the Amarna Period under discussion, followed by a handling session (second hour) of five–six objects in the Egypt Centre collection (fig. 1). The Egypt Centre has over 300 items from Amarna, many of which were excavated by the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) in the 1920s and 1930s. Over the next ten weeks, this blog will present objects from the classes. While this week’s post is written by me, subsequent entries will be written by different members of the class, some of whom are Swansea University students, Egypt Centre volunteers, and members of the public. As their knowledge and learning abilities vary, the posts will likely present quite different perspectives on the classes. Since these differences and views are valued, the entries will undergo as little editing as possible!

Fig. 1: The class admiring the bust of Nefertiti

For the first session, we had an outline of the course followed by a brief introduction to the major characters of the Amarna Period. Five objects were selected for the handling session, with the full size replica of Nefertiti’s bust being the star attraction. W1011 (fig. 2) was purchased by George Kerferd (1915–1998) sometime around 1960. At the time, Kerferd was Professor of Classics at Swansea and had started a small teaching collection for the Department (Griffiths 2000, 6). The original bust of Nefertiti was discovered on the 6th December 1912 at Amarna by the German excavation team headed by Ludwig Borchardt. Now in Berlin (ÄM 21300), the bust is perhaps the most well-known depiction of an ancient Egyptian woman. However, while it is considered an archetype of female beauty, we cannot be sure that Nefertiti actually looked like this. As with all Egyptian art, representations were idealised and stylised. It seems probable that the bust in Swansea was made from the Berlin original by the sculptor Tina Wentcher (born Ernestine Haim). She produced a number of replicas in the years following World War I and there are now many examples scattered throughout the world.

Fig. 2: Bust of Nefertiti (W1011)

Another popular object during the session was W11 (fig. 3), one of four broad collars in the Egypt Centre collection, which will all be featured over the coming weeks. These four collars were allegedly acquired by Ellinor Frances Berens (1842–1924) in the 1880s, shortly after the royal tombs at Amarna were being pillaged (Blackman 1917, 45–46). They were later purchased by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1924 (lots 66–69). However, the evidence for their having coming from the Amarna tombs remains circumstantial. Broad collars seem to have been a common feature of Egyptian dress, although it is unusual to find collars with the thread still intact. Often dealers made up collars with beads from a variety of sources and of different dates, something that possibly occurred with ours. However, the beads do seem to date to the same period, the Eighteenth Dynasty, which reinforces the idea that the thread is genuine (Bosse-Griffiths 2001). In addition, the thread is linen, which is what the ancient Egyptians used whereas modern forgers tended to use cotton. We have considered having the thread radiocarbon dated, but this would destroy a small part of it. Additionally, if the thread were found to be ancient, this still would not prove that the collars were not made up in Victorian times.

Fig. 3: Broad collar (W11)

W962 is a small fragment of a blue glazed composition throwstick, which is decorated on either side with cartouches of Akhenaten next to wadjet-eyes (fig. 4). Given that the throwstick is made out of a glazed composition (faience), it could not have been functional. Instead, it must have been symbolic or intended for the afterlife. According to Stevens (2006, 18), over twenty fragments of faience throwsticks have been found at Amarna. A complete example in the British Museum (BM EA 34213), which was apparently found by locals in the royal tomb at Amarna, suggests that the end would have had decoration showing a lotus-flower (Martin 1974, pl. 51 [301]. The overall design of the throwstick and decoration upon faience examples changed over time (Pinch 1993, 295). Amarna throwsticks have a more shallow curve than earlier ones, perhaps suggesting that they had ceased to be an object for actual hunting. W962 appears to have been part of the collection of Richard Bethell (1883–1929), which was purchased by Wellcome in 1924 (lot 373). Bethell was Howard Carter’s personal secretary, who assisted in the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun (Bierbrier 2019, 49).

Fig. 4: Throwstick fragment (W962)

The final two objects are fragments of faience ring bezels, which were part of the EES excavations at Amarna in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1976, the EES transferred a large group of objects from their excavations, including Amarna, to the British Museum, who in turn offered some of them to Swansea in 1978. Ring bezels with cartouches were introduced by Amenhotep III and remained popular until the end of the New Kingdom (Shannon 1987; Shaw 1984). In fact, W1160q contains part of the name Nebmaatre, which is the prenomen of Amenhotep III (Fig. 5). The second bezel, W1060k, has part of the name Neferkheperure-waenre, the prenomen of Akhenaten (Fig. 6). Further searching of the EES object cards from Amarna will hopefully help identify the actual excavation numbers and findspots!

Fig. 5: Ring bezel of Amenhotep III (W1160q)

Fig. 6: Ring bezel of Akhenaten (W1160k)

Bibliography:

Bierbrier, M. L. (2019) Who was who in Egyptology. London: The Egypt Exploration Society. 5th edition.

Blackman, A. M. (1917) ‘The Nugent and Haggard Collections of Egyptian Antiquities’. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 4, 1: 39–46.

Bosse-Griffiths, K. (2001) ‘Bead collars with Amarna amulets in the Wellcome Collection of the University College, Swansea’. In Amarna Studies and other Selected Papers, ed. J. G. Griffiths. Freiburg (Schweiz); Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 27–30.

Griffiths, J. G. (2000) ‘Museum efforts before Wellcome’. Inscriptions: The Newsletter of the Friends of the Egypt Centre, Swansea 5: 6.

Martin, G. T. (1974) The rock tombs of El-‘Amarna. Part 7: The Royal Tomb at El-‘Amarna 1, the objects Archaeological Survey of Egypt 35. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

Pinch, G. (1993) Votive offerings to Hathor. Oxford: Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum.

Shannon, E. (1987) ‘Bezels with royal names from the Workmen’s Village 1979–1986’. In Amarna reports IV, ed. B. J. Kemp. Egypt Exploration Society, Occasional Publications 5. London: Egypt Exploration Society. 154–159.

Shaw, I. (1984) ‘Ring bezels at el-Amarna’. In Amarna reports I, ed. B. J. Kemp. Egypt Exploration Society, Occasional Publications 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society. 124–132.

Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge (1924) Catalogue of Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek & Roman antiquities, &c.: comprising the collection formed by H. Griebert, Esq. of Berkeley House, Finchley Road, N.W.; including Egyptian amulets, and figures in pottery, silver and bronze; Greek vases, etc.; the property of Mrs. J. Waugh; the property of Sir Henry Paul Harvey, K.C.M.G.; the Berens collection of Babylonian tablets, the property of Mrs. Randolph Berens, of 14, Princes Gardens, S.W.; a fine Græco-Roman marble head of Heracles from the collection of the late Carl Brownlow at Ashbridge, and other properties, including Roman bronze work, Peruvians and Græco-Phœnician gold ornaments, etc.; which will be sold by auction by Messrs.

Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge ... on Thursday, the 28th of February, 1924. London: Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge.

Stevens, A. (2006) Private Religion at Amarna. BAR International Series 1587. Oxford: Archaeopress.