Women & Gender in Ancient Egypt: Queen Tiye

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.

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