Egyptian Amarna sandstone fragment of an Aten cartouche

E257

£1,500.00

Available

A red sandstone architectural fragment inscribed with the lower part of a cartouche for the Aten.

Aten was the name for the sacred sun-disc introduced by Akhenaten at Amarna as the state religion of Egypt for around 20 years. It is the earliest known example of monotheism and is also known as the Amarna Heresy. After Akhenaten’s death his successors set about erasing all traces of the religion and returned to polytheism, hence building blocks such as this were deliberately broken down and on occasion re-used in such a way as to hide the inscriptions.

Culture
Egypt, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Akhenaten, c. 1353-1336 BC

Size
16 x 18.3 cms

Condition
Fragment as shown, the stone is quite friable and partially covered in ancient mortar from having been re-used in a later building

Provenance
Ex. private collection, Paris, France; acquired early to mid 20th Century

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