Altar of Akhenaten

this altar shows how people connect with god Aten and pray to him by the royal family in houses without going to temples

Material ;

This piece is made out of limestone, the figures were painted reddish brown, while the crown and cartouches  were painted blue .

The alter is partly restored .

Function ;

As a new innovation of Amarna art, altars in the form of a shrine were placed  inside private houses 

This takes the  shape of a temple pylon, in relief, the royal family (the intermediaries between the people and the god).

Place of discovery ;

The alter was discovered at Amarna in the house of panehsy , the overseer of the storehouse of Aten and the seal bearer of the king of Lower Egypt, in the Excavation Season of 1926-1927.

Description ;

The alter is 98cm high and 118cm wide .

It is decorated with a symmetrical offering scene in sunk relief, representing Akhenaten and his family offering to Aten .

Under the cavetto cornice there is a line of Aten,s cartouches, which are used as decorative units,  like the hkr frieze .

The king is represented as usual, wearing the blue crown and a wide collar while the queen is wearing her tall blue tiara crown and a long transparent garment .

The young princess is having the side lock of youth and holding a sistrum .

Aten with his rays offering life to the nostrils of the royal couple, occupies the upper part of the scene .

Inscriptions ;

Another version of Aten,s name is written, with the wish to live forever nh dt nhh .

May Ra live,who appears in the horizon of Aten as a visible  manifestation that reaches like Aten  .

good luck