Primary sourceArtifactc. 1347-1330 BCE

Talatat Relief of the Queen's Face with the Aten

c. 1347-1330 BCE

A carved limestone building block from Akhenaten's temple showing a queen's face, likely Nefertiti, beneath rays of the sun god Aten.

This temple fragment likely shows Nefertiti's face receiving rays from the sun god Aten.

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Fragment of a sandstone talatat block with raised relief carving. Visible are a human eye with heavy eye paint and part of a face, a royal headdress edge, a sun disk with rays ending in hands, and ankh-shaped symbols. The stone is pale tan with rough, broken edges against a gray background. — Talatat relief showing the Aten interacting with the queen, limestone, c. 1347-1330 BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

About this source

What it is

This is a talatat, a small standardized limestone building block used to build Akhenaten's temples quickly. It shows a queen's face, probably Nefertiti, with heavy eye paint, part of her headdress, and the sun disk Aten with rays ending in hands reaching toward her. It dates from Akhenaten's reign and is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Why it matters

Talatat blocks like this were used in Akhenaten's new temples to the sun god Aten, built fast using small stones instead of massive traditional ones. Images of the royal women receiving the Aten's rays were central to this new religion, showing the royal family as uniquely close to the god.

Look closer

What symbols can you spot, and what might they mean?
Why do you think the sun's rays are shown ending in hands?
How can a broken block like this still tell us about a whole temple?

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Document

Primary source

Great Hymn to the Aten

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