Subject Matter

Context + Function

Subject Matter

Style and Techniques

Relationship

Context and Function

Where and When: Made in Amarna, Egypt during the reign of Akhenaten (around 1372-1350 BCE), part of the New Kingdom's 18th Dynasty. Depicts Akhenaten, his wife Nefertiti and their children adoring the sun god Aten, a hallmark of the radical socail, religious, and artistic changes, of the Amarna Period

• Purpose: Sold to the royal family as part of the Akhenaten's religious reforms centering worship on Aten, likely functioned as a home alter.
• Society and function: The Amarna Period marked a dramatic shift toward monotheism, worshiping Aten as the sole god. Egypt was ruled from Akhetaten, a newly established capital, and society was tightly centered between Aten + the people.
• Use: The relief was used to express and facilitate the family's relationship with Aten, replacing traditional polytheistic rituals with a focus on direct solar worship. It symbolized the king and queen as mediators between Aten and the people

Subject Matter

• Figures Represented: The centeral figures are Akenaten, Neferiti, and their daughters, shown in a lively, intimate family scene.
• Motifs: Above the family, is Aten depicted as a sun with rays ending in hands that extend the ankh (life symbol) to the king and queen, empasizing their divine favor.
• Writing/Imagery: Hieroglyphic inscriptions often accompany such reliefs identifying the royal individuals and praising their exclusive relationship with Aten, However most of the writing brings attention to the family and religious aspects.
• Narrative: The relief visually narrates akhenaten's historic religious revolution, marking the first substantial monothestic experiment in ancient history.
• Popularity: Popular during the Amarna Period, reflecting Akhenaten's break with tradition and the centralization of worhsip through his family.

Relationship of Subject to Context

The subject matter directly reflects religious revolution of Akhenaten, withAkhenated and Nefertiti portrayed as both leaders and mediators of the new solar cult, reinforcing their divine role in society and the exclusivness of Aten worship- making the style, composition, and motifs unique to this brief transformative period in Egyptian history.