Nefertiti's Garland
©Margret E. Short, OPA, AWA, 12×5 Oil on Panel
Lessons from the Pharaoh's Tomb, Part Two
Queen Nefertiti’s image of elegant beauty is instantly recognizable around the world. She lived on the east bank of the Nile with her six daughters and the Pharaoh, Akhenaten. They reigned during the eighteenth dynasty, 1500–1292 BCE where together they created a radical concept of worshiping one god, Aten. This short-lived new religion of Monotheism caused chaos in Egypt because for many centuries the culture promoted the love of many gods. This idea was not in favor for long and both the Queen and the Pharaoh and Monotheism soon faded.
Nefertiti’s Garland depicts the lush garden the queen perhaps would have had in her palace in Tel El Amarna on the east bank of the Nile. A small rose bud, a sprig of wheat, cherries, grapes, and other fruit hang from a ribbon and cascade onto an alabaster jar. The azurite/ Egyptian blue frit mixture is used abundantly throughout, on the jar, ribbon, and combined with yellow ochre for the leaves. Red iron oxides mixed with madder and yellow ochre create a wide variety of reds, red orange, and yellow orange of the fruit. An ankh, the symbol of life, is placed prominently near the center.
Galerie Gabrie, Pasadena
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