Context and Subject
The object shown connects to our weekly module, as it shows imagery from the Amarna Revolution. This art piece depicts Pharoah Akhenaten, his queen and wife Nefertiti (both wearing their royal head-dresses), and their 2 children worshipping the god Aten, holding up what seem to be lotus flowers in offering. In Ancient Egypt, lotus flowers represent divine beauty and creation. Aten, who is being represented as the sun, as he is the god of life and creation, was the primary god that the Pharoah recognized, creating the religion of Atenism around him. What was so different about Atenism was that the religion was monotheistic, meaning that it only worshipped the one god Atens, while before this Egypt had always been a polythesistic region, worshipping many different famous gods such as Ra, Anubis, and Osiris, making the Egyptian public resent the new religion. This art piece was most likely created to promote the religion of Atenism to the public. Having the leader and closest thing to a god on earth, their pharoah, worshipping with his family was most likely a way to get the conversion from a long reigning polythestic religious system to an all new monothestic one as smooth as possible.
The Met Museum. “ Lotus Flower Inlay - New Kingdom, Amarna Period.” Metmuseum.org, 2022, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/548302. Accessed 5 Sept. 2025.
Connections to our Readings
This object connects to 'Selected Spells from the Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts', as in the reading it refrences multiple different gods from the polytheistic era of Egypt, examples being the 'lord of light' referenced in spell 21, referencing Ra, or the gods brought up by name such as Geb in spell 33 or Osiris in spell 125. This idea connects to the artwork here as it combats the polytheistic relgious practices that Egypt used to follow and instead replaces it with the monotheistic practices of Atenism. The book of spells takes spells from the history of Ancient Egypt, the oldest of them dating from ~2686 BC, meanwhile this artwork and the Armarna Revolution was introduced to Egypt during ~1336 BC. As Akhenaten was trying to replace the religious system of Egypt, a system that has lasted and served the people of Egypt for over 1500 years, spanning generations of Pharoahs and common men alike, it did not go over smoothly with the Egyptian public, as it condradicted everything they have learned and everything their ancestors did.
Style
The style used in this piece heavily relies on scale to represent power between the people shown. Aten being at the very top of the panel, having depth and texture makes him the most central part of this piece. The lines coming off the sun disc shows Akhenaten, the second largest piece of this art, he is also first in the line and closest to Atens, followed by Nefertiti in size and closeness to Atens, and finally their children. Furthermore, the artstyle of this artwork uses stylized depictions of the royal family, spesifically Akhenaten. Akhenaten is depicted with a tiny waist, incredibly wide hips and large legs to make him seem almost alien. This style of artwork, dubbed the 'Armarna Style' was unlike traditional Egyptian artforms seen before. The purpose of this style was to distinguish itself from previous religious artworks of Egypts past and create more expressive and less formal depictions of the Pharoahs family.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Amarna style". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Jun. 2013, https://www.britannica.com/art/Amarna-style. Accessed 5 September 2025.
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James Loftus (jloftus)
Created on September 5, 2025
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Transcript
Context and Subject
The object shown connects to our weekly module, as it shows imagery from the Amarna Revolution. This art piece depicts Pharoah Akhenaten, his queen and wife Nefertiti (both wearing their royal head-dresses), and their 2 children worshipping the god Aten, holding up what seem to be lotus flowers in offering. In Ancient Egypt, lotus flowers represent divine beauty and creation. Aten, who is being represented as the sun, as he is the god of life and creation, was the primary god that the Pharoah recognized, creating the religion of Atenism around him. What was so different about Atenism was that the religion was monotheistic, meaning that it only worshipped the one god Atens, while before this Egypt had always been a polythesistic region, worshipping many different famous gods such as Ra, Anubis, and Osiris, making the Egyptian public resent the new religion. This art piece was most likely created to promote the religion of Atenism to the public. Having the leader and closest thing to a god on earth, their pharoah, worshipping with his family was most likely a way to get the conversion from a long reigning polythestic religious system to an all new monothestic one as smooth as possible.
The Met Museum. “ Lotus Flower Inlay - New Kingdom, Amarna Period.” Metmuseum.org, 2022, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/548302. Accessed 5 Sept. 2025.
Connections to our Readings
This object connects to 'Selected Spells from the Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts', as in the reading it refrences multiple different gods from the polytheistic era of Egypt, examples being the 'lord of light' referenced in spell 21, referencing Ra, or the gods brought up by name such as Geb in spell 33 or Osiris in spell 125. This idea connects to the artwork here as it combats the polytheistic relgious practices that Egypt used to follow and instead replaces it with the monotheistic practices of Atenism. The book of spells takes spells from the history of Ancient Egypt, the oldest of them dating from ~2686 BC, meanwhile this artwork and the Armarna Revolution was introduced to Egypt during ~1336 BC. As Akhenaten was trying to replace the religious system of Egypt, a system that has lasted and served the people of Egypt for over 1500 years, spanning generations of Pharoahs and common men alike, it did not go over smoothly with the Egyptian public, as it condradicted everything they have learned and everything their ancestors did.
Style
The style used in this piece heavily relies on scale to represent power between the people shown. Aten being at the very top of the panel, having depth and texture makes him the most central part of this piece. The lines coming off the sun disc shows Akhenaten, the second largest piece of this art, he is also first in the line and closest to Atens, followed by Nefertiti in size and closeness to Atens, and finally their children. Furthermore, the artstyle of this artwork uses stylized depictions of the royal family, spesifically Akhenaten. Akhenaten is depicted with a tiny waist, incredibly wide hips and large legs to make him seem almost alien. This style of artwork, dubbed the 'Armarna Style' was unlike traditional Egyptian artforms seen before. The purpose of this style was to distinguish itself from previous religious artworks of Egypts past and create more expressive and less formal depictions of the Pharoahs family.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Amarna style". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Jun. 2013, https://www.britannica.com/art/Amarna-style. Accessed 5 September 2025.