Amulet of a Royal Child

The lavish reign of Amenhotep III (1390-1353 BC) is reflected in the sumptuous products of his court artisans. Radical artistic and religious changes mark the reign of his son and successor, the "heretic" pharaoh Akhenaten (1353-1336 BC) and his queen, Nefertiti, who established a new capital at the site of Tell el-Amarna. During the Amarna Period, the cult of the royal family grew, in part to replace the other deities that had been proscribed. The king was now the intermediary between the sun god, Aten, and the worshipping Egyptians. Even images of the royal children could embody such concepts as fertility and rebirth. Following this turbulent period, Tutankhamun (1333-1324 BC) and his successors, Ay and Horemheb, returned the court to Thebes and reinstated the worship of the traditional pantheon.