Trial Piece Relief of Head of Akhenaten
New Kingdom, Amarna Period, Dynasty 18, reign of Akhenaten, ca. 1353–1336 B.C
Egyptian; From Egypt, Middle Egypt, el-Amarna (Akhetaten); inc. el-Hagg Qandil, Petrie/Carter 1891–1892
Limestone
H. 13 3/8 in. (34 cm), W. 9 3/16 in. (23.3 cm)
Purchase, Fletcher Fund and The Guide Foundation, Inc. Gift, 1966 (66.99.40)
The slanting slitted eye, heavy everted lips, and drooping chin here recognizably signify the pharaoh Akhenaten.
This piece is a 'sculptor's model' from Amarna. Such models are roughly rectangular slabs of stone on which the representation is theorized to be a master's model for his assistants to follow while decorating a wall with relief or, alternatively, an apprentice's study piece. At least in some instances, however, such pieces may have been intended or served secondarily as donations. For instance, one such relief found in the Great Temple of the Aten at Amarna shows a kneeling figure on the reverse side of a royal representation.
The king's image appears to be unfinished, lacking characteristic furrows and lines and the royal uraeus.
