Monday, May 17, 2010

Head of Amarna Princess

Art Museum Journal (Stan Parchin)

Stan has written a piece about one of the Amarna princess sculptures. With photo.

Pharaoh Akhenaten (r. 1353-1336 B.C.) dedicated his 17-year reign and the resources of New Kingdom Egypt to the exclusive worship of the Aten or solar disk, profoundly affecting the history of his polytheistic civilization's art. In the enigmatic ruler's remote capital Akhetaten (present-day el-Amarna), the chief royal sculptor Thutmose and his workshop produced female images of remarkable beauty and startling naturalism. Each was a radical departure from the centuries-old static and idealized representations of the human body. One such graceful work, the Sculpted Head of a Princess from Amarna (ca. 1340-1337 B.C.), is on view in the special exhibition Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.

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