<em>Plaque with Name of Amenhotep III</em>, ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/4 x 2 5/16 in. (4.5 x 5.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 40.126.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.40.126.1_erg456.jpg)

Plaque with Name of Amenhotep III, ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/4 x 2 5/16 in. (4.5 x 5.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 40.126.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.40.126.1_erg456.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What is this?

40.126.1 "Plaque with the Name of Amenhotep III"

Amenhotep III was an "expansionist" ruler -- he was in charge of the Egyptian empire at a high point in its political, economic, and cultural power. He also made some important changes to Egyptian religion and built many new temples.

Another note about the plaque -- you'll see other objects made of bright-blue faience throughout the Egyptian galleries -- including jewelry and bowls. It's the bright blue pottery-like substance -- made with earth/mineral ingredients that give it its color. It may have been meant to imitate precious stones with blue colors -- like lapis lazuli -- but it's human-made.

What is this?

This faience plaque is imprinted with the name of the king Amunhotep III. He was a powerful and prosperous ruler who reigned during the prestigious 18th Dynasty. You can see numerous other objects made during his reign nearby.

Faience was an extremely popular material for small, decorative objects in Ancient Egypt. It's a quartz-based paste that's molded and then fired at a high temperature. Faience is naturally sparkling white so it takes color and glazes very well making it easy to achieve the brilliant blues you see here imitating lapis lazuli (the darker blue) and turquoise (the lighter blue) two semi-precious stones.

Can you tell me more about this plaque? I wonder what was for.

We don't know the exact purpose of this plaque unfortunately.

But we do know that is was likely an object of value because of the material it was made out of called faience. It was an extremely popular material for small, decorative objects and imitates the blue of lapis lazuli, an extremely expensive and valuable blue stone.

It looks very "modern." I never realised that it should imitate Lapis Lazuli. Good to know!

It reflects the extravagance of the king Amunhotep III. It does doesn't it? The Egyptians were in many ways, ahead of their time aesthetically I think.

Thanks, have a nice day!

Plaque with Name of Amenhotep III

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

MEDIUM Faience

Place Made: Egypt

DATES ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 1 3/4 x 2 5/16 in. (4.5 x 5.8 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 40.126.1

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Plaque with Name of Amenhotep III, ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/4 x 2 5/16 in. (4.5 x 5.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 40.126.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.40.126.1_erg456.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.40.126.1_erg456.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 7/2/2008

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What is this?

40.126.1 "Plaque with the Name of Amenhotep III"

What is this?

Can you tell me more about this plaque? I wonder what was for.

We don't know the exact purpose of this plaque unfortunately.

It looks very "modern." I never realised that it should imitate Lapis Lazuli. Good to know!

It reflects the extravagance of the king Amunhotep III. It does doesn't it? The Egyptians were in many ways, ahead of their time aesthetically I think.

Thanks, have a nice day!