Relief of Sandaled Feet of a Royal Woman
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
On View: Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Traditional Egyptian relief rendered both feet as seen from the inside, with the big toe closer to the viewer. In the Eighteenth Dynasty, however, artists began to experiment with more accurate representations, first in tomb painting and then in sculpture and relief. This relief, representing all five toes of the right foot, is one of the first examples of a break with the earlier tradition.
The standardized shape of the block and the realistic modeling are characteristic of the Amarna period. While several royal women of Amarna wore floor-length pleated garments like these, the life-size scale points to Queen Nefertiti as the owner of these feet.
MEDIUM
Limestone, pigment
DATES
1352-1332 B.C.
DYNASTY
Dynasty 18
PERIOD
New Kingdom, Amarna Period
ACCESSION NUMBER
60.197.7
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a
Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online
application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the
United States Library of Congress,
Cornell University,
Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and
Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our
blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact
copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
CAPTION
Relief of Sandaled Feet of a Royal Woman, 1352-1332 B.C. Limestone, pigment, 8 7/8 x 21 3/4 in. (22.6 x 55.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 60.197.7. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 60.197.7_transpc004.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 60.197.7_transpc004.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Limestone relief. In raised relief, facing right the sandaled feet of a royal figure, most probably female. Feet correctly drawn with all toes of the near foot indicated. In the background, the folds of a transparent linen dress. Figure was life size.
Condition: Relief broken vertically through center. Original paint in crevice on back of right leg, on base of right foot, and all along toes of same foot; also on ankle of right foot, sandal strap and along edges of foot. Scattered remains of dress show it too was red. Lower right corner broken.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and
we welcome any additional information you might have.
What is the cultural significance of the "Relief of Sandaled Feet of a Royal Woman"?
The cultural significance comes in more with the whole image. This is only a fragment of a relief that would have shown the whole body. Based on the life-sized scale and the lines behind her feet that indicate a long, fine garment, the figure would have likely been that of Queen Nefertiti. So, during the reign of her husband, Akhenaten, this image would have been significant as an image of the reigning queen who had both political and religious power. As you may know, Akhenaten changed the official religion in Egypt and his changes were abandoned and even erased after his death. Many images of Nefertiti suffered as well. Her image would have been a reminder of "the heretic king."
Thank you!
Why are the feet like this during the Amarna period?
What's unique about these feet is that they are depicted like real feet, a right and a left. In most ancient Egyptian art people are painted with two of the same feet, so you always see the inside of the foot because they thought that was the most characteristic view of the foot.
In the Amarna period, artists in royal workshops showed a new interest in more realistic representations rather than just "hieroglyph" views of the body. It's because of the presence of all five toes and the long pleated dress in the background that we know these feet belong to a royal woman from this time, likely Nefertiti.
Thank you!
![[Untitled] (Buffalo Springfield/Richie Havens/Chambers Brothers)](https://d1lfxha3ugu3d4.cloudfront.net/images/opencollection/objects/size2_sq/73.39.121_PS3.jpg)
