Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) · stela

Torso of Nefertiti from a dyad holding a stela in front of the bodies

Source of record: Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

Description

Nefertiti torso, Aten cartouches. New Kingdom, Amarna Period, Dynasty 18, reign of Akhenaten, ca. 1352–1336 B.C. Indurated limestone. h. 28 cm (11 in); w. 29.5 cm (11 5/8 in); d. 21.5 cm (8 7/16 in). From: Great Temple of the Aten, pit outside southern wall, Amarna (Akhetaten), Middle Egypt, Egypt. Excavation: Petrie/Carter excavations, 1891–92. Subject: Cartouches, Nefertiti. Credit: Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1921.

AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano

Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.

Fragmentary, carved limestone torso/plinth-like piece with incised hieroglyphic text panels and decorative motifs against a dark studio background.

The image shows a light-colored, weathered stone fragment with a rounded upper surface and an angled lower edge, preserved only as part of a larger sculptural element. Several vertical and block-like hieroglyphic fields are incised in recessed relief, including rectangular sign boxes and some signs that appear consistent with formal royal or cultic inscriptions, though individual signs are not sufficiently clear to read with confidence. A central area includes a larger decorative element with curved, banded relief resembling a stylized emblem or figure attribute rather than a clearly legible name or cartouche. The fragment is broken and chipped throughout, obscuring any continuous text or complete figures. No Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is visible; only hieroglyphic carving is apparent.

decorative New Kingdom, Amarna Period (as catalogued) fragmentary
Materials limestone (indurated limestone as catalogued)
Signs hieroglyphic rectangular sign boxes / vertical inscription columns (unreadable) ×8

Connections

Deities Aten
Royals Nefertiti

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116247549 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 21.9.4 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 544677 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
About this record's data
  • From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access).
  • AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
  • Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
  • Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.