Head of Akhenaten

Excavations in Amarna carried out by a team from Berlin (1911–14) and financed by the patron James Simon, led to the discovery of a sculptor’s studio in which were found, amongst other items, a large number of portrait masks made of stucco. In contrast to a group of works portraying the idealised heads of king and casts of almost complete statues, there is also a group of works with extremely realistic faces.

The relief shows the face of Pharao Akhenaten, turning right. The representation reflects the style of the earlier years of the so called “Amarna period”. Characteristic are the overlong, convex neck, the broad lips, the downward turned chin as well as the narrow eye. The earlobe is pierced. The wrinkles of the throat and between the nose and the upper lips are carved in scratched lines. The kind of the crown cannot be determined.