Ancient Egyptian (Unknown), CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Akhenaten Sacrificing a Duck
by Ancient Egyptian (Unknown), -1336
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- -1336
- Medium
- Limestone, paint
- Size
- H. 25 × W. 55 × D. 3.3 cm (9 13/16 × 21 5/8 × 1 5/16 in.)
Cite or Embed This Work
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Ancient Egyptian This limestone relief shows Pharaoh Akhenaten wringing a duck's neck before offering it to the Aten, the solar disk. The scene captures a single moment of action that the Met notes "would never have been attempted in an earlier period." It's a defining example of Amarna-period naturalism.
The artist used sunk relief, cutting outlines into the stone surface so shadows emphasize sunlight. This block originally joined with a piece now in Copenhagen, revealing that both Akhenaten and his wife Kiya performed the ritual together under the Aten's rays. The duck sacrifice was part of Akhenaten's radical religious reforms, which focused worship on a single solar deity.
It measures 25 x 55 cm and dates to ca. 1353-1336 BCE. It's in Gallery 121 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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About Akhenaten Sacrificing a Duck
It captures a single moment of action (wringing a bird's neck) that would never have been attempted in earlier Egyptian art. The Amarna period introduced naturalism and movement to a tradition that had been static for centuries.
A technique where outlines are cut into the stone surface rather than raised above it. Shadows from direct sunlight emphasize the image. It was the dominant method for Egyptian temple exteriors during the Amarna period.
A joining block is in Copenhagen. Together they show Akhenaten and his wife Kiya performing the ritual under the Aten's rays. This piece is in Gallery 121 at the Met.
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