Egyptian Amarna statue / sculpture bust replica - Kiya / Meritaten 18th dynasty

Amarna royal bust

Dimensions :-
Total height with stand - 19.5 cm / 7-3/4 inches
Base stand - 7 x 7 cm / 2-3/4 x 2-3/4 inches

Made of a limestone and quartzite composition stone she has an earthy ochre colouration with traces of red on the lips and subtle eyelines in black. For an effective display option, the sculpture is mounted on an easily removable felt based stand.

On offer here is a fine replica of one of Amarna art's most sensual sculptures. It is a beautiful sculpture that looks good from many angles.

Many portrait busts were found in the ruined studio complex of the sculptor Thutmose in the abandoned city of Amarna. Attribution of a name for each of these pieces is a speculative pursuit but all moved within the royal court of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.
The name put forward as most likely is Kiya - a subsidiary Queen of king Akhenaten and possible mother of Tutankhamun. Princess Meritaten or one of her sisters cannot be ruled out as the name of the personality represented here.

The similarity of facial type compares well with the canopic jar lids found in the Amarna cache tomb numbered KV 55. These are said to belong to Kiya who wears a distinctive variation of a Nubian braided wig in both 3 dimensional and relief sculpture.

This piece was intended to have a wig as the low ridge and tang on top of the head would fit a sculpted wig or headdress carved in another material. Although it was not located at the time of excavation, It may yet be discovered lurking in a secret niche in another part of the city. Many fragments of such wigs, often made in stunning blue glass or paste have been found and would contrast nicely with the flesh tones of the stone head it was intended to rest upon.

The bust on offer is thus but one part of a composite statue.
Composite statues were a product of the era which saw artists specializing in the shaping of different body parts and components that were joined together to make the statue whole.