Detail of A Fragment of a Relief Representation of Amun, Ahmes-Nefertari and King Amunhotep I in the Brooklyn Museum, March 2010

Fragment of Relief Representation of Amun, Ahmes-Nefertari and King Amunhotep I

In the center of this private stela (commemorative tablet), flanked by the god Amun and the second king of Dynasty XVIII, Amunhotep I, is Queen Ahmose-Nofretari, Amenhotep I's mother. Ahmose-Nofretari held the important religious position "God's Wife of Amun." According to Egyptian theology, Amun could impregnate his human consorts; thus Amunhotep I was the son of the god, and he and his mother comprised Amun's earthly family. Both Ahmose-Nofretari and Amunhotep I enjoyed popular cults at Thebes beginning in Dynasty XVIII and continuing for many centuries thereafter. So popular was a festival dedicated to Amunhotep I that the seventh month was named for it in both Coptic and Arabic.

Medium: Limestone, painted

Possible Place Collected: Thebes, Egypt

Dates: ca. 1295-1185 B.C.E.

Dynasty: XIX Dynasty

Period: New Kingdom

Dimensions: 30 13/16 x 24 1/8 x 2 7/16 in. (78.3 x 61.2 x 6.2 cm)

Collections: Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

Accession Number: 86.226.25

Credit Line: Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.

Text from: www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4247/Fragme...