Statue head of Queen Tiyi

Around 1450 BC Egypt rose to become the leading world power of the time, with a sphere of influence stretching as far as Mesopotamia to the east and the Sudan in the south. Under Amenhotep III, Egypt reached the height of its power. The cosmopolitan spirit of the age is reflected in the character of the Great Royal Consort Tiyi, who came from a family of non-Egyptian origins. Carved from yew wood, the portrait head of Tiyi with its realistically rendered face was reworked at a later date. Under the wig adorned with little blue glass beads lies the original headdress of gold and silver. A crown with cattle horns, a solar disc and hawk’s feathers, transforms the queen into a goddess – a change of status which guaranteed her an appropriate position after the death of her husband Amenhotep III.