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The Wilbour Plaque

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
One of the world’s best-known works of Amarna art, the Wilbour Plaque is named for the American Egyptologist Charles Edwin Wilbour (1833–96), who purchased it in 1881. The plaque was never part of a larger scene. Originally, it was suspended on a wall by a cord inserted through the hole at the top. Artists used it as a model for carving official images of an Amarna king and queen. The queen shown here is certainly Nefertiti; the king may be Akhenaten, his co-regent Smenkhkare, or young Tutankhaten (later Tutankhamun).
MEDIUM Limestone, pigment
DATES ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E. or slightly later
DYNASTY late Dynasty 18
PERIOD New Kingdom, Amarna Period
DIMENSIONS 6 3/16 × 8 11/16 × 1 5/8 in. (15.7 × 22.1 × 4.1 cm)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 16.48
CREDIT LINE Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
PROVENANCE Tell el-Amarna, Egypt; December 21, 1881, purchased in Amarna by Charles Edwin Wilbour; 1896, inherited from Charles Edwin Wilbour by Charlotte Beebe Wilbour; 1914, inherited from Charlotte Beebe Wilbour by Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour; 1916, gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour to the Brooklyn Museum.
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CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Sunk relief heads of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Probably made as a model for sculptors. Circular suspension hole at top. Traces of red paint on faces and crowns.
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
CAPTION The Wilbour Plaque, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E. or slightly later. Limestone, pigment, 6 3/16 × 8 11/16 × 1 5/8 in. (15.7 × 22.1 × 4.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.48. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 16.48_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 16.48_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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