Relief Fragments Depicting a Court Scene

Unknown

ca. 1353–1336 B.C. · Limestone, paint · Egyptian Art

This block is an excerpt from a family scene, a genre that reinforced the notion of royal family as the blessed children of the Aten. The curved back of a cushioned seat stands in a pavilion. One of its supporting poles is decorated with plants and animals. Above the chair floats what is probably the streamer of a crown. The royal family gathered in pavilions such as this to pass the hot afternoon or to dine. Outside, a group of musicians enhance the atmosphere: the overlapping profiles of the legs of two women and the long vertical bar of what is probably an upright harp mark their presence.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1353–1336 B.C.

Medium

Limestone, paint

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Gift of Norbert Schimmel, 1985