Head of Queen Tiye

This small portrait head of Queen Tiye (c. 1355 BC) captures one of ancient Egypt's most formidable women with startling realism. Carved from yew wood and originally adorned with a silver headdress, gold earrings, and linen shawl, the face shows an older woman with downturned mouth, heavy-lidded eyes, and deep lines beside the nose.

Tiye was the great royal wife of Amenhotep III and mother of the radical pharaoh Akhenaten. She wielded significant political influence, corresponding directly with foreign kings. After her husband's death she remained powerful at court, advising her son during the Amarna period's religious upheaval.

The portrait's unflinching naturalism is rare in Egyptian art, which typically idealized royalty. It may have been reworked after her death as a funerary object. The head was found in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV35) and is now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. At just four inches tall, it ranks among the finest small-scale portraits from the ancient world.