Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s Morning Toilette in Karnak

Abstract

Among the sandstone talatat, Akhenaten’s standard build­ ing blocks (c. 52 ́ 26 ́ 22 cm) from Karnak, there is an intriguing series describing Akhenaten and Nefer­ titi’s toilette assisted by male attendants with shaved heads. The blocks were extracted from the ninth py­ lon of Karnak and belong to a monument built in east Karnak during the first part of Amenhotep IV/Akhen­ aten’s reign (c. 1350 bc), the RwD mnw n Itn r nHH, “Enduring is the monument of/for Aten forever” (the name RwD mnw appears in the epithets of Aten above the scenes, as the locus of Aten’s “residence”). The scenes on this edifice were the last carved in Karnak before the King’s move to Akhetaten, the new domain of Aten and royal residence in Middle Egypt. This fact is evinced by the original inscription on reliefs of the RwD mnw, associating the first version of Aten’s cartouches and epithets (in use since Year 4) with the new royal names of Akhenaten (Nfrxprwra Wanra Axnitn, introduced in Year 5) and Nefertiti (Nfrnfrwitn Nfrtity, used since Year 5– 6).1 The RwD mnw was part of the Gm pA Itn (“Found