Arm at wrist, Aten cartouches
Unknown Artist
ca. 1353–1336 B.C.
Medium
Indurated limestone
Dimensions
9.5 x 7 x 2.5 cm; cartouche W. 2.6 cm
Classification
Arm at wrist, Aten cartouches
Period
New Kingdom, Amarna Period
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1957
Accession Number
57.180.24
Art Historical Context
This delicate fragment, titled *Arm at Wrist, Aten Cartouches*, hails from Egypt's Amarna Period (ca. 1353–1336 B.C.), a era in the New Kingdom Dynasty 18. Carved from indurated—a durable, hardened stone prized for its fine grain and ability to hold intricate details—this 9.5 cm piece depicts a wrist section adorned with the royal cartouches of Aten, the sun disk deity. These oval inscriptions, each 2.6 cm wide, protected the god's name in hieroglyphs, a convention in Egyptian art symbolizing eternity and divine authority. The Amarna Period, under Pharaoh Akhenaten, marked a bold shift toward...