Fragment of a sunk relief: heads of female attendants
Life Story
The New Kingdom pharaoh Akhenaten presided over a major religious shift in Egypt. He abandoned polytheism and promoted a monotheistic religion worshipping the Aten (Sun-disk), centred around his new capital city of Amarna. Alongside these reforms, the art of Akhenaten’s court became more expressionistic, markedly different from Egypt’s earlier, more rigid style. Variously cast as a visionary or heretic, Akhenaten proved greatly inspirational to twentieth-century artists, as did the artistic style of his reign.
Provenance
Considered to be from the Royal Tomb of Akhenaten at El-Amarna.
Part of a lot sold at public auction in Paris during the Second World War.
Purchased by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury from Ernst Ascher, Paris in 1949.
Donated to the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia in 1973 as part of the original gift.
Not on display
Title/Description: Fragment of a sunk relief: heads of female attendants
Born: 1370 c. BC
Measurements: h. 140 x w. 133 x d. 28 mm
Accession Number: 311
Historic Period: Dynasty XVIII (c. 1370 BC), 13th Century BC
Credit Line: Donated by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury, 1973
