Head of Akhenaten Wearing the Blue Crown, traces of a hieroglyph behind the neck

Head of Akhenaten Wearing the Blue Crown, traces of a hieroglyph behind the neck

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The sculptured faces of Akhenaten and Nefertiti were destroyed not long after the royal family left the site, so that only fragments are preserved of their faces (see, for example, 26.7.1395). This head was put together from three joining fragments found in the Sanctuary of the Great Aten Temple at Amarna, or in the dump south of the Sanctuary area of the temple. As such, it constitutes one of the most substantially preserved images from the temple. The head wears the blue crown, indicating that Akhenaten is definitely represented. The line of his narrow left eye, long face, and full lips is preserved, but the long chin is broken away.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Head of Akhenaten Wearing the Blue Crown, traces of a hieroglyph behind the neckHead of Akhenaten Wearing the Blue Crown, traces of a hieroglyph behind the neckHead of Akhenaten Wearing the Blue Crown, traces of a hieroglyph behind the neckHead of Akhenaten Wearing the Blue Crown, traces of a hieroglyph behind the neckHead of Akhenaten Wearing the Blue Crown, traces of a hieroglyph behind the neck

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.