Fragment of an Inlay Headdress

c. 1353–1295 BCE

Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18

lavender blue faience with deep blue overglaze

Overall: 6.7 x 7.7 x 2.8 cm (2 5/8 x 3 1/16 x 1 1/8 in.)

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1920.1976

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Did You Know?

It has been suggested that this fragment was part of a headdress that belonged to a queen. The fine, carved details of this headdress attest to the great skill of its maker and the luster of the blue lapis lazuli faience would have been appropriate for Egyptian royalty.

Description

This fragment is part of the curled headdress of an inlay figure, probably of a queen, assembled of various materials fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The front part of the headdress (directly over the forehead) is to the left, followed by the ear tab and part of the cutout above the ear. The luster of the faience is marvelously preserved. Blue, primarily associated with lapis lazuli, was an appropriate color for kings' and gods' hair and was part of the apparatus signaling them as otherworldly beings.