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Early Image of Nefertiti

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Nefertiti raises her arm in an attitude of prayer or offering. Originally the god Aten, as the sun disk, appeared above her. The two tiny hands in front of the queen’s face belong to streams of light coming from the Aten. One of these hands holds an ankh (the hieroglyph for “life”) to Nefertiti’s nose, so that she can receive from the Aten the “breath of life,” given to the faithful.
MEDIUM Sandstone, pigment
DATES ca. 1352–1347 B.C.E.
DYNASTY late Dynasty 18
PERIOD New Kingdom, Amarna Period
DIMENSIONS 6 11/16 x 10 1/4 x 1 3/16 in. (17 x 26 x 3 cm)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 64.199.2
CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented, probably from the Lost Aten Temple, Karnak, Egypt; 1955, in Karnak, Egypt; between 1955 and 1964, provenance not yet documented; before 1964, acquired by Hubert Herzfelder of Paris, France; by 1964, purchased from the Estate of Hubert Herzfelder by Leo Mildenberg of Zurich, Switzerland; 1964, purchased from Leo Mildenberg by the Brooklyn Museum.
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MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
CAPTION Early Image of Nefertiti, ca. 1352–1347 B.C.E. Sandstone, pigment, 6 11/16 x 10 1/4 x 1 3/16 in. (17 x 26 x 3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 64.199.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.64.199.2_wwg7.jpg)
IMAGE installation, West Wing gallery 7 installation, CUR.64.199.2_wwg7.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2005
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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