Harvard Art Museums > 1960.170: Temple or Palace Relief: Charioteers Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Temple or Palace Relief: Charioteers , 1960.170,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/291048. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text This relief fragment dates to the Amarna period, a time in Egypt when the king, Akhenaten, initiated a religious revolution. It was originally part of the wall decoration at the palace-temple complex at Akhenaten’s capital, Tell el-Amarna, but was later transported to Hermopolis Magna during the reign of King Rameses II (1292–1232 BCE). The two cities were roughly 14 miles apart and on opposite banks of the Nile, which would have made transportation of the reliefs by boat fairly easy. The scene depicts two female attendants riding in chariots, most likely during a royal procession. Such events were common at Amarna as Akhenaten and his immediate family would parade from the palace to the Great Temple each day to make offerings to the chief sun god, the Aten. The journey was meant to reflect the sun’s movement across the sky during the day. Identification and Creation Object Number 1960.170 Title Temple or Palace Relief: Charioteers Classification Sculpture Work Type sculpture Date c. 1365-1353 BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Tel el'Amarna (Egypt) Period New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Amarna period Culture Egyptian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/291048 Physical Descriptions Medium Limestone, traces of modern paint Dimensions 24 cm h x 54 cm w x 3.5 cm d (9 7/16 x 21 1/4 x 1 3/8 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History German Hermopolis Expedition of 1938 and 1939. Director: Professor Gunther Roeder. This relief was discovered beneath a later construction of Rameses II at Hermopolis. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of New Hermes Foundation Accession Year 1960 Object Number 1960.170 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Publication History John D. Cooney, Amarna Reliefs from Hermopolis in American Collections, Brooklyn Museum (New York, NY, 1965), No. 34 Günther Roeder, Amarna-Reliefs aus Hermopolis, Gerstenberg (Hildesheim, Germany, 1969), no. P.C. 22, pl. 174 George M. A. Hanfmann and David Gordon Mitten, "The Art of Classical Antiquity", Apollo (May 1978), vol. 107, no. 195, pp. 362-369, fig. 4. David Gordon Mitten and Amy Brauer, Dialogue with Antiquity, The Curatorial Achievement of George M. A. Hanfmann, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1982), p. 17, no. 76. Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), p. 95, no. 103, ill. Exhibition History Dialogue with Antiquity: The Curatorial Achievement of George M.A. Hanfmann, Fogg Art Museum, 05/07/1982 - 06/26/1982 32Q: 3740 Egyptian, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/28/2017 - 05/31/2023 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
