The Amarna Period through the Egypt Centre Collection

This past Thursday, I started my new course entitled The Amarna Period through the Egypt Centre. The ten-week course consists of PowerPoint lectures (first hour) briefly summarising the various aspects of the Amarna Period under discussion, followed by a handling session (second hour) of five–six objects in the Egypt Centre collection (fig. 1). The Egypt Centre has over 300 items from Amarna, many of which were excavated by the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) in the 1920s and 1930s. Over the next ten weeks, this blog will present objects from the classes. While this week’s post is written by me, subsequent entries will be written by different members of the class, some of whom are Swansea University students, Egypt Centre volunteers, and members of the public. As their knowledge and learning abilities vary, the posts will likely present quite different perspectives on the classes. Since these differences and views are valued, the entries will undergo as little editing as possible!

Fig. 1: The class admiring the bust of Nefertiti

For the first session, we had an outline of the course followed by a brief introduction to the major characters of the Amarna Period. Five objects were selected for the handling session, with the full size replica of Nefertiti’s bust being the star attraction. W1011 (fig. 2) was purchased by George Kerferd (1915–1998) sometime around 1960. At the time, Kerferd was Professor of Classics at Swansea and had started a small teaching collection for the Department (Griffiths 2000, 6). The original bust of Nefertiti was discovered on the 6th December 1912 at Amarna by the German excavation team headed by Ludwig Borchardt. Now in Berlin (ÄM 21300), the bust is perhaps the most well-known depiction of an ancient Egyptian woman. However, while it is considered an archetype of female beauty, we cannot be sure that Nefertiti actually looked like this. As with all Egyptian art, representations were idealised and stylised. It seems probable that the bust in Swansea was made from the Berlin original by the sculptor Tina Wentcher (born Ernestine Haim). She produced a number of replicas in the years following World War I and there are now many examples scattered throughout the world.

Fig. 2: Bust of Nefertiti (W1011)

Another popular object during the session was W11 (fig. 3), one of four broad collars in the Egypt Centre collection, which will all be featured over the coming weeks. These four collars were allegedly acquired by Ellinor Frances Berens (1842–1924) in the 1880s, shortly after the royal tombs at Amarna were being pillaged (Blackman 1917, 45–46). They were later purchased by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1924 (lots 66–69). However, the evidence for their having coming from the Amarna tombs remains circumstantial. Broad collars seem to have been a common feature of Egyptian dress, although it is unusual to find collars with the thread still intact. Often dealers made up collars with beads from a variety of sources and of different dates, something that possibly occurred with ours. However, the beads do seem to date to the same period, the Eighteenth Dynasty, which reinforces the idea that the thread is genuine (Bosse-Griffiths 2001). In addition, the thread is linen, which is what the ancient Egyptians used whereas modern forgers tended to use cotton. We have considered having the thread radiocarbon dated, but this would destroy a small part of it. Additionally, if the thread were found to be ancient, this still would not prove that the collars were not made up in Victorian times.

Fig. 3: Broad collar (W11)

W962 is a small fragment of a blue glazed composition throwstick, which is decorated on either side with cartouches of Akhenaten next to wadjet-eyes (fig. 4). Given that the throwstick is made out of a glazed composition (faience), it could not have been functional. Instead, it must have been symbolic or intended for the afterlife. According to Stevens (2006, 18), over twenty fragments of faience throwsticks have been found at Amarna. A complete example in the British Museum (BM EA 34213), which was apparently found by locals in the royal tomb at Amarna, suggests that the end would have had decoration showing a lotus-flower (Martin 1974, pl. 51 [301]. The overall design of the throwstick and decoration upon faience examples changed over time (Pinch 1993, 295). Amarna throwsticks have a more shallow curve than earlier ones, perhaps suggesting that they had ceased to be an object for actual hunting. W962 appears to have been part of the collection of Richard Bethell (1883–1929), which was purchased by Wellcome in 1924 (lot 373). Bethell was Howard Carter’s personal secretary, who assisted in the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun (Bierbrier 2019, 49).

Fig. 4: Throwstick fragment (W962)

The final two objects are fragments of faience ring bezels, which were part of the EES excavations at Amarna in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1976, the EES transferred a large group of objects from their excavations, including Amarna, to the British Museum, who in turn offered some of them to Swansea in 1978. Ring bezels with cartouches were introduced by Amenhotep III and remained popular until the end of the New Kingdom (Shannon 1987; Shaw 1984). In fact, W1160q contains part of the name Nebmaatre, which is the prenomen of Amenhotep III (Fig. 5). The second bezel, W1060k, has part of the name Neferkheperure-waenre, the prenomen of Akhenaten (Fig. 6). Further searching of the EES object cards from Amarna will hopefully help identify the actual excavation numbers and findspots!

Fig. 5: Ring bezel of Amenhotep III (W1160q)

Fig. 6: Ring bezel of Akhenaten (W1160k)

Bibliography:

Bierbrier, M. L. (2019) Who was who in Egyptology. London: The Egypt Exploration Society. 5th edition.

Blackman, A. M. (1917) ‘The Nugent and Haggard Collections of Egyptian Antiquities’. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 4, 1: 39–46.

Bosse-Griffiths, K. (2001) ‘Bead collars with Amarna amulets in the Wellcome Collection of the University College, Swansea’. In Amarna Studies and other Selected Papers, ed. J. G. Griffiths. Freiburg (Schweiz); Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 27–30.

Griffiths, J. G. (2000) ‘Museum efforts before Wellcome’. Inscriptions: The Newsletter of the Friends of the Egypt Centre, Swansea 5: 6.

Martin, G. T. (1974) The rock tombs of El-‘Amarna. Part 7: The Royal Tomb at El-‘Amarna 1, the objects Archaeological Survey of Egypt 35. London: Egypt Exploration Society.

Pinch, G. (1993) Votive offerings to Hathor. Oxford: Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum.

Shannon, E. (1987) ‘Bezels with royal names from the Workmen’s Village 1979–1986’. In Amarna reports IV, ed. B. J. Kemp. Egypt Exploration Society, Occasional Publications 5. London: Egypt Exploration Society. 154–159.

Shaw, I. (1984) ‘Ring bezels at el-Amarna’. In Amarna reports I, ed. B. J. Kemp. Egypt Exploration Society, Occasional Publications 1. London: Egypt Exploration Society. 124–132.

Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge (1924) Catalogue of Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek & Roman antiquities, &c.: comprising the collection formed by H. Griebert, Esq. of Berkeley House, Finchley Road, N.W.; including Egyptian amulets, and figures in pottery, silver and bronze; Greek vases, etc.; the property of Mrs. J. Waugh; the property of Sir Henry Paul Harvey, K.C.M.G.; the Berens collection of Babylonian tablets, the property of Mrs. Randolph Berens, of 14, Princes Gardens, S.W.; a fine Græco-Roman marble head of Heracles from the collection of the late Carl Brownlow at Ashbridge, and other properties, including Roman bronze work, Peruvians and Græco-Phœnician gold ornaments, etc.; which will be sold by auction by Messrs.

Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge ... on Thursday, the 28th of February, 1924. London: Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge.

Stevens, A. (2006) Private Religion at Amarna. BAR International Series 1587. Oxford: Archaeopress.