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Primary sourceArtifactc. 1350 BCE

Relief of Nefertiti Before the Aten

c. 1350 BCE

A carved sandstone fragment from the Aten temple at Karnak showing Nefertiti alone before the rayed sun-disk of Aten.

This relief shows Nefertiti standing alone before the Aten, reflecting her unusual religious authority.

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Photograph of an ancient Egyptian sandstone relief fragment in a museum, mounted on a pale pedestal. Carved raised figures include a bent arm with a hand holding an ankh sign, and a blue-painted section with traces of red and white paint, against a stone background with vertical carved stripes.
Relief fragment, Nefertiti before the Aten, Aten temple at Karnak, c. 1350 BCE. Ägyptisches Museum Berlin.

About this source

What it is

This is a photograph of a sandstone relief fragment from the Aten temple at Karnak, dating to the New Kingdom's 18th Dynasty. It shows carved raised figures including an arm holding an ankh sign, with traces of blue, red and white paint. It is now held in the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin.

Why it matters

The relief shows Nefertiti standing alone before the Aten, the sun-god promoted by her husband Akhenaten. This kind of direct access to the god was usually shown only for kings, so the image reveals how important Nefertiti was within the new religion centred on the Aten.

Look closer

  • What details survive, and what parts of the relief are missing or broken?
  • Why might the artist have shown the queen receiving the ankh directly from the sun-disk?
  • What does the surviving paint tell you about how colourful these reliefs originally were?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Queen Nefereti on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Painted limestone bust of an Egyptian queen wearing a tall blue crown with a red and green band and a gold-colored brow band. The eyes are inlaid with dark outlines, and the bust rests on a dark base against a black background.Sculpture

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Bust of Queen Nefertiti

Thutmose · c. 1345 BC

Black-and-white photograph of a painted bust of a woman with a tall flat-topped crown, side-facing, on a dark rectangular pedestal set on a pale plinth. The collar has striped and patterned bands.Sculpture

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Figure of Nefertiti

Close-up detail of an Amarna limestone relief. A seated woman wearing a tall flat-topped crown is at right, with a sun disc and rays above. At left, a smaller figure with a child's head is seated near her, and carved hieroglyphs fill the background.Sculpture

Primary source

Akhenaten and His Family

c. 1352 BC

Photo of a curved, blue glazed ceramic fragment with white body edge, covered in raised concentric ring motifs with dots. Two holes pierce the piece near its center, with a scale bar along the bottom.Sculpture

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Relief Fragment Showing the Blue Crown of Nefertiti

Black-and-white line drawing of columns of Egyptian hieroglyphic text arranged in vertical lines, with cartouches visible, copied from a wall inscription. This is a facsimile of the Great Hymn to the Aten.Document

Primary source

Great Hymn to the Aten

Akhenaten · c. 1350 BC

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