Thutmose (sculptor)

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"The King's Favourite and Master of Works, the Sculptor Thutmose" (also spelled Djhutmose and Thutmosis) was apparently the court sculptor of Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten in the latter part of his reign. A German archaeological expedition digging in the deserted city of Amarna found a ruined house and studio complex during its 1912 excavations; the building was identified as that of Thutmose based on an item found in a rubbish pit in the courtyard that had his name and job title on it. Since it gave his occupation as "sculptor" and the building was clearly a sculpture workshop, it seemed a logical connection.

Among many other sculptural items recovered at the same time was the famous head of Nefertiti, apparently a master study for others to copy, which was found on the floor of a storeroom.

[edit] Gallery of images

Plaster face of an older Amarna-era woman, from late in Akhenaten's reign, years 14-17, from the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose. On display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Plaster face of a young Amarna-era woman, (thought by many to represent Kiya, one of Akhenaten's wives), from late in Akhenaten's reign, years 14-17, from the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose. On display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Statuette of Queen Nefertiti rendered in limestone from the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose. On display at the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin.

[edit] Bibliography

• Cyril Aldred, Akhenaten: King of Egypt (Thames and Hudson, 1988), pp. 59.
• Rita E. Freed, Yvonne J. Markowitz, Sue H. D'Auria, Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten - Nefertiti - Tutankhamen (Museum of Fine Arts, 1999), pp. 123-126.