Head from a Composite Statue

ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E.

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Caption

Head from a Composite Statue, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E.. Yellow quartzite, pigment, 7 1/16 x 5 11/16 in. (18 x 14.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society, 34.6042. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.6042_front_SL1.jpg)

Title

Head from a Composite Statue

Date

ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E.

Dynasty

late Dynasty 18

Period

New Kingdom, Amarna Period

Geography

Place excavated: Tell el-Amarna, Egypt

Medium

Yellow quartzite, pigment

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

7 1/16 x 5 11/16 in. (18 x 14.5 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society

Accession Number

34.6042

Rights

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.

Frequent Art Questions

  • Why is the nose always missing?

    A popular question! There are two main reasons: Either 1) it chipped off by accident or 2) was chiseled off on purpose.
    1) Since the nose sticks out from the face and is a relatively small part of the statue, it might the first thing to hit the ground when the statue falls and easily breaks.
    2) By cutting off the nose, the statue could no longer breath, thus ritually killing the statue. An ancient Egyptian person might do this if they hated the person depicted in the statue and wanted to harm their afterlife. And...
    This was also a known practice in the early Christian period when warrior monks were trying to stamp out the old religion. "Killing" the statue is easier and faster than totally destroying it.
    Thanks for the answers.

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