Akhenaten and His Daughter Offering to the Aten
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Object Label
Akhenaten presents a formal bouquet to the Aten, whose rays, ending in tiny hands, stream down before the king. Only the king's arms, torso, and lower face are preserved. His daughter holds a rattle called a sistrum and wears her hair in an elaborate plaited sidelock, symbolizing youth.
Caption
Akhenaten and His Daughter Offering to the Aten, ca. 1353–1336 B.C.E.. Limestone, pigment, 8 15/16 × 20 5/16 × 1 1/4 in., 14.5 lb. (22.7 × 51.6 × 3.2 cm, 6.58kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund , 60.197.6. Creative Commons-BY
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Title
Akhenaten and His Daughter Offering to the Aten
Date
ca. 1353–1336 B.C.E.
Dynasty
late Dynasty 18
Period
New Kingdom, Amarna Period
Geography
Place found: Hermopolis Magna, Egypt, Reportedly from: Tell el-Amarna, Egypt
Medium
Limestone, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
8 15/16 × 20 5/16 × 1 1/4 in., 14.5 lb. (22.7 × 51.6 × 3.2 cm, 6.58kg)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
60.197.6
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
What was he holding?
Akhenaten holds up a bouquet and presents it to the Aten. The arms that you see to the left are actually hands of the end of rays emanating from a sundisk representing the Aten.What are some similarities between ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian art?
I think some similarities lie in the ways in which human figures are depicted, idealized and powerful in many cases. The art was meant to tell the viewer something specific.There was also a lot of contact between the two cultures. They were two major powers in the region and were in contact for trade and diplomacy. About two hundred years after the Assyrian Reliefs we have here, the Assyrians even gained control of Egypt.Do you know the timeline out of them both, were the Assyrian reliefs made earlier than the Akhenatan relief? Did they make the reliefs in a similar way?The relief of Akhenaten is several centuries earlier, actually! It dates between the years 1352 and 1336 BCE. The Assyrian reliefs are from 883-859 BCE.Relief carving hasn't changed greatly over time. One of the main differences between these two is that the Akhenaten relief is incised, which means they cut the relief into the stone, while the Assyrian relief was made by cutting away the stone around the figures.Thank you! You have been great help!What is the function of this piece?
This relief shows the pharaoh, Akhenaten, presenting an offering to the god Aten. The hands that come down are the rays of Aten, who was associated with the sun. So it is very much part of a religious relief.Thank you!Can you tell me about the style of Egyptian art?
The style used in Egyptian art changed over time. At all times, the style was heavily influenced by its communicative function. Around the time this relief was made, the visual style of depicting human bodies changed a great deal, this change was directly related to a major change in the religion.Egyptian art always conveyed specific ideas based on visual conventions. The way a body was shown could have great meaning, as the posture and appearance of the figure could convey different things.Thank you! This is so helpful!In the relief of "Akhenaten and his Daughter Offering to Aten," what is the king doing？Why can we only see the nude body, and no face?
As the title suggests, he is making an offering to the god Aten, the all-encompassing sun god that he elevated to the role of chief deity during her reign. Akhenaten drastically changed the religion during his reign and there was a strong reaction against him after he died. The religion was changed back and images of him were often destroyed, like this one. This is also just one block that would have been part of a larger decorated wall, the top of his head and his legs would have been on separate blocks.
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