Talatat: Portrait of Nefertiti

c. 1353–1347 BCE
Overall: 21.5 x 24.3 cm (8 7/16 x 9 9/16 in.)
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location: 107 Egyptian

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

Even though all we see is a fragment of the head we know it is Nefertiti by the double uraeus or serpent symbol on the headband, which was only worn by the queen.

Description

The son of Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, brought about the short-lived "monotheistic" revolution in Egyptian religion near the end of Dynasty 18. The young king constructed a temple complex to the Aten, the Sun Disk, at Karnak—from which this relief comes—before he moved his capital to El Armana. For reasons yet unknown, the figure of the Queen Nefertiti appears in these reliefs far more often than that of the king. Ironically, the Aten temples were dismantled anciently to be used as foundations and fill for additions to the Great Temple of Amun, whom the Aten had briefly displaced.
Talatat: Portrait of Nefertiti

Talatat: Portrait of Nefertiti

c. 1353–1347 BCE

Egypt, Karnak, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Akhenaten (1351–1334 BCE)

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.