This is the "Portrait Head of Queen Tiye
with a Crown of Two Feathers."
It is believed to be dated to 1355 BCE
during the Amarna Period, Dynasty 18,
in New Kingdom Egypt.
Today, it is located
in the Egyptian Museum
and Papyrus Collection
at the Neues Museum in Berlin.
In ancient Egypt,
gender played a significant role
in the social, religious,
and political spheres.
Tasks and responsibilities
were divided along gender lines
with elite men responsible for doing
the administrative and bureaucratic work;
while elite women
were the head of the household,
cared for children,
and had important roles in temple rituals.
In the royal courts of ancient Egypt,
labor was also gendered,
yet queens had the biggest
responsibility of all:
to be the head of the royal household,
to become impregnated by the king,
and to give birth to the royal children.
Once her children were born,
the queen was expected to be
the mother of the future king
and raise the royal children to adulthood
when they would take over
as king and queen of Egypt.
Born of non-royal parents,
Queen Tiye ascended to become
one of the most influential
women in ancient Egypt
through the role of her husband,
King Amenhotep III.
Together, they produced six children
and later became the grandparents
of the famous King Tut.
Queen Tiye's role as queen was unique
because her husband allowed
her more influence
than most queens were given.
Throughout Egyptian history, most queens
probably did not participate
in administration and diplomatic duties,
yet we have documents supporting the case
that Queen Tiye participated in
international diplomacy actions
between Egypt and other countries.
She was respected as a
political advisor, foreign diplomat,
and is noted to have been
the first Egyptian queen
to have her name
reported on official acts.
She was commonly referred to as
"The Great Wife of the King"
in scribal work.
After her husband died,
her son Akhenaten
inherited his father's throne
at the age of ten.
Queen Tiye's importance continued to
elevate through her son's role.
The statue of Queen Tiye
is a remarkable one.
It is made of Yew wood with
eyes of ebony and alabaster,
and displays a number
of key artistic elements
that provide insight into
gender roles of royal women
with an ancient Egyptian culture.
The artistic rules o
ancient Egypt were to
represent both men and women
at the height of their life
in a youthful and attractive appearance.
But we can see in the statue of Queen Tiye
that she has been depicted
as an older queen
with signs of age etched into her forehead
and in the folds along
the sides of her mouth.
Some scholars believe that
this was intended to show her as a
high-status elder and
queen mother in the royal house.
If we look closely at the statue,
we can see that there are
two distinct headdresses.
There is a brown outer cap
made of linen, wax, and glue
that covers a headdress made of
silver, gold, and semi-precious stones.
Computer scans of the statue reveal that
the headdress underneath was made of
Egyptian acacia wood and
covered in silver with gold nails,
and bound tightly around the
Queen's forehead and temples.
Because of the damage
of the brown covering,
we can see one revealed earring
and the exposed silver
above the gold headband,
which has been darkened by corrosion.
We can imagine what it may
have looked like in antiquity:
completely covered with silver,
four golden cobras,
two ear ornaments,
and stones of blue,
eye-catching lapis lazuli.
The two gold clips on the front headdress
are markers of a missing crown
that would have signaled
her status as queen
and wife of the pharaoh.
The brown outer cap
is suspected to have been added
to signal a demotion in status
from the wife of the pharaoh
to the mother of the next pharaoh.
Another notable aspect of this crown
is the gold, double-feather crown,
sun disc, and cow horns.
In royal artwork, queens were
shown with divine insignia,
such as the vulture headdress
and the cobra Uraeus,
which was also worn by the king
and mythical goddesses
to mark their divine rule.
This insignia on Queen Tiye's crown
is symbolic of the goddesses
Hathor, Nekhbet, and Wadjet,
who represented protection,
fertility, and sexuality.
The sun disc, known as the Aten,
is believed to be a reference to
the monotheistic religion
that her son Akhenaten founded,
dedicated to Amun,
the god of the sun and the air.
As the king's great royal wife,
the queen had an important role
in the sacred rituals of honoring the gods
and temples and religious ceremonies.
Her role was to uphold
the duality of kingship
and mythological rituals,
and to take on the role
as the king's divine feminine counterpart.
Today, we could see the
force this queen possessed
during the reign of her husband,
and a number of monuments left over
from the ancient city of Thebes.
We will consider one such monument:
the colossal statue of Amenhotep III
and Tiye.
This statue was found in Medinet Habu,
Western Thebes, or modern day Luxor,
and is now located
in the main hall of the
Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Standing at seven meters tall,
this limestone statue
is the tallest dyad ever found.
The statue depicts Amenhotep III
and Queen Tiye,
seated side-by-side.
On a significantly smaller scale
are their three daughters
standing around them.
The Queen is wearing a tight-fitted,
ankle length dress
and a long, heavy, braided wig.
Her headdress is composed
of a vulture head
and a double Uraeus
believed to be linked to
the double falcon feather
she wears in the bust.
The most prominent feature of the statue
is the comparable scale of the
Queen and her husband.
The Queen sits at
approximately equal height
to Amenhotep III, a site rarely seen
in ancient monuments,
and a true marker of the Queen's ability
to traverse the traditional bounds
of ancient Egyptian queenship.
This indicator of her status
can be compared
to her depiction in the bust,
and that the sculptor
avoids portraying her
as a flawless and
infinitely youthful queen
with a gentle gaze.
Instead, the Queen stares off
at her spectators
with a gaze of authority
and undisputed power.
This representation could be interpreted
as placing the queen on
a nearly equal status
to that of the king,
who can casually be portrayed
with signatures of age.
Perhaps to emphasize that this queen
possessed a wisdom and dominance
far overshadowing
her traditional importance
as simply the bearer
to Egypt's next pharaoh.