The Wilbour Plaque
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
On View: Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
One of the world’s best-known works of Amarna art, the Wilbour Plaque is named for the American Egyptologist Charles Edwin Wilbour (1833–96), who purchased it in 1881. The plaque was never part of a larger scene. Originally, it was suspended on a wall by a cord inserted through the hole at the top. Artists used it as a model for carving official images of an Amarna king and queen. The queen shown here is certainly Nefertiti; the king may be Akhenaten, his co-regent Smenkhkare, or young Tutankhaten (later Tutankhamun).
ca. 1352-1336 B.C.E. or slightly later
late XVIII Dynasty
New Kingdom, Amarna Period
6 3/16 × 8 11/16 × 1 5/8 in. (15.7 × 22.1 × 4.1 cm) (show scale)
Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
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The Wilbour Plaque, ca. 1352-1336 B.C.E. or slightly later. Limestone, pigment, 6 3/16 × 8 11/16 × 1 5/8 in. (15.7 × 22.1 × 4.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.48. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 16.48_SL1.jpg)
overall, 16.48_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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Sunk relief heads of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Probably made as a model for sculptors. Circular suspension hole at top.
Traces of red paint on faces and crowns.
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