Fragment of Akhenaten’s Name Inscription
Carved around 1345 – 1347 BCE
Purchased from the Egypt Exploration Society in 1922
Accession # 7043-2
All statues and images of king Akhenaten included his name, which you can see on this piece of stone. Royal throne names and birth names are always encircled with a rope that we call a cartouche. The cartouche references the cyclical nature of the universe, as it encircles the king’s name.
The name marked an image as a true representation of a specific person rather than a general character. So naturally, all royal statues would have been clearly marked with one or more of the king’s royal names.
