Akhenaten & Nefertiti - The Great Royal Wife - the Beautiful One has Come

Nefertiti was the great royal wife of King Akhenaten (formerly Amenhotep IV) her name translates to 'A beautiful One has Come, and indeed she was stunningly beautiful as a portrait bust of her was found on the 6th December 1912 by  a German archaeological mission led by Ludwig Borchardt during an excavation at Armarna, when the bust of Nefertiti was found lying in the ruins of the Amarna workshop of the sculptor Thutmose. despite a missing left eye on the bust, Nefertiti is still the  most beautiful female figure from Ancient Egypt. Nefertiti had many titles including:

Hereditary Princess 

Great of Praises 

Lady of Grace 

Sweet of Love 

Lady of The Two Lands 

Great King's Wife, his beloved 

Lady of all women

Mistress of Upper & Lower Egypt

It is believed that Nefertiti was daughter of the courtier Ay, who became pharoah after Tutenkhamun, Ay was the brother of Akhenaton’s mother, Tiy. 

Nefertiti bore six daughters within the 10 years of her marriage, to Akhenaten

Meritaten

Their eldest child Meritaten was born at Malkata towards the beginning of his reign, her name means, ‘She who is beloved of Aten'

Her name appears on an ivory writing palette – which probably belonged to her, in the tomb of Tutankhamun – her younger half-brother. Also a sarcophagus belonging to her was found within KV55 – which has recently been proven to house the mummy of Akhenaten.

Meketaten

Their second daughter Meketaten's  name means, ‘Behold the Aten’. Meketaten is frequently depicted in artworks from Amarna, and features with Meritaten and Nefertiti along boundary stelae of the new city of Akhetaten. She features with all of her sisters at the Parade of Foreign Tributes, and it has been said that she was married to her father – and died, presumably in childbirth 

Ankhesenpaaten (later Ankhesenamun)

The third royal daughter was born around Year 5  she later became the wife of her younger half-brother Pharaoh Tutankhamun, In Tutenkhamun's tomb two small foetus were found,  following his death she was married to his successor, Pharaoh Ay, who was also her maternal grandfather.

Neferneferuaten Tasherit

Was the first princess to be born at Amarna, Neferneferuaten was named after her mother, Nefertiti, whose name was changed to Neferneferuaten when the royals changed their names to embrace the Atenist religion. Her name means ‘Beauty of the Beauties of the Aten’, with the epithet ‘Tasherit’ meaning ‘Junior

Neferneferure

Princess Neferneferure's name means, ‘Beauty of the Beauties of Re’. who died  about the age of five, as she is not depicted at the mourning scene for Meketaten. Neferneferure is depicted on a crouching position upon a box-lid discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Setepenre

Princess Setepenre's name means ‘Chosen of Ra’, she was the youngest daughter and was about the same age as Tutankhamun. Akhenatens son by a minor wife. Setepenre is depicted with her sisters at the Parade of Foreign Tributes. It is likely that Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s youngest child died aged around three years of age, shortly before Meketaten, as she does not appear in the mourning scene.

Soon after Akhenaton’s 12th regnal year, one of the princesses died, three disappeared (and are also presumed to have died), and Nefertiti vanished. The simplest inference is that Nefertiti also died, but there is no record of her death and no evidence that she was ever buried in the Amarna royal tomb.

During his reign, Akhenaten enacted a series of shocking religious and societal changes, he instructed the Egyptians that they should only worship one God, The Aten, he closed all the temples of the Gods, and moved the capital to Akhetaten (Armarna, a completely deserted area with no influences of the previous religeon.) here  Nefertiti and Akhenaten are shown worshipping the Aten, or bathing in its radience with their children, Akhetaten grew quickly into a large, sprawling city on the east bank of the Nile River. Vast temples were dedicated to the Aten, left unroofed to be filled with light - thus eliminating the need for cult statues of the god. Offerings of bread, beer, cattle, fowl, wine, fruit and incense were given to the sun god on open-air altars. As the sun moved east-west over the temples, Akhenaten traveled north-south through the city in a golden chariot as the Aten’s representative on earth. Many layers of history have tried to destroy and eradicate this most unusual pharaoh, a man of peace, a man who made his own rules and defied the priests of Amun, a king not interested in following the traditions of dominance,  a man  that was eventually  broken by the overwhelming forces against him, enemies on his frontiers and a plague within his Capital that took the life of two of his beloved young daughters, his hopes were diminished and after his death his religion and the sanctuary he had created at Akhetaten was abandoned by his people,  the lonely life he had lead as a child, and his vision of one god, the Aten was rejected, he had brought Egypt to the brink of economic disaster with his non violent policy and his life of seclusion, his only interests in life had been the love of his wife Nefertiti his children and the worship of the Aten

The thing that is most unusual about Akhenaten and Nefertiti's relationship is that Akhenaten are shown in reliefs together and seem to appear as inseperable, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are often shown riding in chariots together and even kissing in public, they are shown as a happy couple enjoying the love a a family with their daughters, no other pharaoh has ever portrayed himself in this manner, occasionally queens were shown with their husbands, but in much smaller scale, and never with their children. I feel that Akhenaten and Nefertiti must have had a genuine romantic connection, a dynamic not generally seen in depictions of ancient pharaohs. In this image both Akhenaten and Nefertiti are bathed in the rays of life from the Aten

On arrival at Akhetaten Nefertiti changed her name to Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, meaning "beautiful are the beauties of Aten, a beautiful woman has come," as a show of her absolutism for the new religion. 

Akhenaten went to great lengths to display Nefertiti as his  equal. In several reliefs, she is shown wearing the crown of a pharaoh or smiting her enemies in battle, no other pharaoh has ever portrayed his wife as an equal, their marriage and portrayal of their relationship is unique in ancient Egyptian culture.

If you would like to see an image of Nefertiti and Akhenaten when in Luxor, you must I would definitely recommend you to visit the Tomb of Ramose (TT55).  Ramose was the Vizier of both Amenophis 111, and Amenhotep1V (Akhenaten) the tomb is  situated on the hillside of Gurna based in an area known as the tombs of the nobles, in this tomb you can see the traditional tomb art and the amazing transformation that Armarna art brought to Egypt,  

The banquet scene for the funeral of Ramose is outstanding and stretches across the whole inner wall, this is so beautiful, there is no colour, just the eyes have kohline, the carvings and wigs are stunning. Akhenaten and Nefetiti are shown on the opposite wall beneath the Aten greeting envoys from other countries, the above image shows work in progress inside the tomb, it is dignitaries from other countries before Akhenaten and Nefertiti, the image of Nefertiti and Akhenaten has been vandalized as Akhenaten was known as a heretic king who had suppressed the worship of the God Amun, and by vandalizing their images it would symbolically deny them an afterlife, it is a mystery as to  what happened to this couple who defied thousands of years of the worship of Amun, and openly expressed their love and family.

Hossam Dirar - Egyptian Artist - The Nefertiti Collection

 Queen Nefertiti was the Great Royal wife of Akhenaten, a revolutionary pharaoh, that tried to change thousands of years of Ancient Egyptian belief of worshiping many Gods, he insisted that his people should only worship one God, the Aten. During his reign he closed all the temples of the various Gods, and moved his capital into the desert. During his reign a new beautiful art style was created called Armarna Art. Akhenaten was a man of peace, and obviously adored his wife Nefertiti and their children, he offered Nefertari the honor of being represented with him in full size in relief's, not the usual pharaonic half size, Akhenaten's changes almost brought Egypt to the brink of disaster, and through all his revolutionary changes Nefertiti stood firmly by his side

Hossam has created a stunning series of paintings of the amazingly graceful and beautiful Nefertiti whose name actually means 'the beautiful one has come'

Hossam is not just celebrating Nefertiti's beauty, he has given her the status of a Goddess as a woman, by painting her with the wings of the Goddess Isis

Hossam paints Nefertiti in various poses and colors, one of my favorite paintings is where she wears a vibrant red dress, emphasizing Nefertiti's power and confidence. She wears a large golden Ankh necklace, this is the Ancient Egyptian Symbol for Regeneration and Eternal life, it offers a doorway to eternity. The Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died, if their name was spoken it would offer them eternal life. Hossam's amazing art has brought Nefertiti from the past, thousands of years into the future,  to empower modern women

Hossam expresses the elegant and mysterious beauty of Queen Nefertiti, he expresses his feelings that ' Nefertiti would empower women to take a stand for their beliefs, and that she would encourage women to move out of the shadows'.

Another of my favorite paintings is Nefertiti wearing a white dress, and holding a bouquet of flowers, this painting has given Nefertiti an untouchable purity showing her as a bride.

Hossam finds some of his inspiration from another of my favorite symbolist painters, an Austrian named Gustav Klimt, whose art was exceptional, he was a revolutionary modern artist during the period in time that he lived 1862-1918, he mixed images of women so skillfully painted that they had a photographic quality, and their clothes he used patterns and symbolism. Klimt was also interested in ancient Egypt, and used many of their symbols in his paintings of women.

Contact Hossam Dirar on Facebook : Hossam Dirar

info@hossamdirar.com

http:/www.hossamdirar.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfI5Gg4KDic&feature=youtu.be

DISCOVERING AKHENATEN AT LUXOR MUSEUM

LUXOR MUSEUM - DISCOVERING AKHENATEN



Having  spent the morning at the mummification museum I decided to use the evening to go in search of  Akhenaten, this can be rather difficult as his works were systematically destroyed after his death, no statues of this heretic pharaoh can be found in any temples in Luxor, although the tomb of Ramose offers a glimpse of Armarna art with the king practicing his vision of one god the Aten before he left Weset (luxor) to create his new Kingdom in a completely barren and deserted place that he named Akhetaten, the horizon of the Aten, now known as Armarna, this was also raised to the ground after his death, so unless you are an archaeologist there is only one definite place to find Akhenaten whilst on holiday and that is at Luxor Museum. Akhenaton had been a pharaoh like no other, his whole concept of life and spirituality was on a completely different level from any king that has ever ruled Ancient Egypt, he believed in one god two thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ, and so I wanted to look on the form of Egypt’s most unusual and revolutionary pharaoh, to achieve this I knew there was only one place that I would be able to gaze on this metamorphous of a mortal,  so I jumped in one of the many caliches that were parked up at the back of Luxor temple and asked the driver to take me to Luxor Museum.

On arrival I headed towards the highest level of Luxor Museum to see Akhenaten. I wondered who was this king that had created so much turmoil within a society that had been dominated by their beliefs of many gods and the Priests of Amun for thousands of years?

Akhenaten was one of the sons of Amenhotep III, the pharaoh who had created the largest festival hall at Luxor Temple and whose colossal statues are known as the Colossi of Memnon, they sit alone abandoned at the side of the fields of the western shore, now only the foundations of Amenophis’ mortuary temple remain behind the lonely statues, and in the desert the scattered remnants of his palace can still be found, this huge palace was possibly where Akhenaten grew up. The palace area today is known to the local s as Malquata, which means the ‘place of debris’, Amenophis had named it ‘The Palace of the Dazzling Aten’, he created a harbor in front of the palace that from its place in the desert it still gave access to river Nile, so that he could sail straight from the palace in his golden Barque that was called ‘Aten Sparkles, obviously during the reign of Amenophis the Aten was beginning to rise in importance.

During his childhood Akhenaten was known as Amenhotep, he was never included in any festivals or ceremonies along with his family, he was a hidden child, excluded from the royal circle, rejected, possibly because of obvious signs of an illness that royalty would not accept, but yet his mother Queen Tiy showered him with her love regardless of the reason for his exclusion. His older brother Tuthmosis was the heir to the throne, but when he died suddenly, a new heir was needed and Amenophis was finally exposed to the people as the new successor to the throne.


I stood beneath his statue and was drawn by the hypnotic stare from  his elongated Asian eyes that viewed me from above , his  face was long with unusually broad cheekbones and a high forehead, a strong masculine jaw  fought against the supremacy of his wide and sensuous mouth that pouted somewhat, I felt that he would have known my innermost thoughts in life, I was un- nerved by his steadfast probe of my soul, never had a pharaoh been portrayed in such an unusual  manner before, his deep sensuous lips reminded me of the African race, his long face with highly pronounced cheek bones suggested European and his eyes suggested Asian, his face was a confusion and seemed to portray a man  possessing the features from all the four corners of the earth within one race, his athletic  arms and long slender fingers grasped the crook and flail firmly, but there was no impression of the raw brutality strength or power from  within his body that previous pharaohs had amplified, he was an enigma, a man whose body portrayed both male and female characteristics with his sweeping wide female child bearing hips,  his mind held the key to his power and his strength, the wealth of his position and centuries of belief that the pharaoh was a living god fueled his defiance of the priests of Amun to eradicate their powers and install  his chosen God the Aten to rule supreme, like a despot he blindly pursued his belief and forced his will over others, but his will  was only as strong as his own mortal life and his beliefs and suppression of the priests of Amun then ended with his mortal  life.

I left his steadfast gaze and followed the small pieces of talatat across the wall, Akhenaten had initially created a temple at Karnack that he dedicated to the Aten, and to fulfill his usual rapid need for renewal he used these small slabs of talatat to decorate his temple. Pharaoh Horemheb had been an army general during the reign of Akhenaten, after his death he destroyed the remains of Akhenaten's Sun temple and used its remains to fill his 10th pylon.

All the pieces of talatat that could be found to match, like a jigsaw have been pieced together again to create a small scene from within one of the Sun Temples that Akhenaten had created outside the eastern gate of Karnack Temple. He named his main temple Gempaaten which means “The Sun Disc is found in the Estate of the God Aten",  there’s defiance for you and a snub to authority, his temple had no roof and was created in the same style that his father Amenophis 111 had made the  festival hall at luxor temple, its offering tables were exposed to the warmth of the rays of the Sun,  the opposite  of  the dark secretive and covered chambers that had been created for centuries of worship in the temples of Amun. A special house within the precincts of Karnack contains the remains of the small pieces of the talatat .It is  almost like a  library for  the privileged where only the chosen few are allowed to have a glimpse of all the broken remains of Akhenaten's rule. In time someone will come that can put all the pieces together and recreate Akhenaten's dreams once more. Many layers of history have tried to destroy and eradicate this most unusual pharaoh, a man of peace, a man who made his own rules and defied the priests of Amun, a king not interested in following the traditions of dominance,  a man  that was eventually  broken by the overwhelming forces against him, enemies on his frontiers and a plague within his Capital that took the life of two of his beloved young daughters, his hopes were diminished and after his death his religion and the sanctuary he had created at Akhetaten was abandoned by his people,  the lonely life he had lead as a child, and his vision of one god, the Aten was rejected, he had brought Egypt to the brink of economic disaster with his non violent policy and his life of seclusion, his only interests in life had been the love of his wife Nefertiti his children and the worship of the Aten.

Regardless of his faults   I admired him for his determination to stand up for his own beliefs and for the obvious love of his wife and daughters; he had tried to create a haven of peace within a country that needed the wars and suppression of its neighbors to survive. Akhenaten was a rare pharaoh indeed and was not afraid to be shown in the tender embrace of his family something that no other pharaoh has ever been portrayed for, a man of the family, a child that had begun life as an outcast he blindly soared to the heights to live his dreams. Sadly his dream had broken him; he tried to change too much too soon. I sat and stared at his face for a long time, was this really him? Had he been as honest in his strange portrayal as he had been as open in is love for his wife and daughters? I sat and reflected for a long while, and then I left with the memory of his unusual face in my mind, as nothing else in the museum could compare to this enigma of a pharaoh.