Kohl Tube Fragment with Name of Nefertiti

Place of OriginEgypt, found at Amarna in 1921

Dateabout 1360 BCE

DimensionsH: 1 in. (2.5 cm)

MediumFaience

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1926.105

Not on View

DescriptionTurquoise-blue faience fragment.

Label TextThis turquoise-blue fragment of a kohl tube (make-up container) bears a cartouche of Nefertiti, the consort of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (later Akhenaten). The inscription, inlaid with darker blue paste, reads: "Nefernefruaton-Nefertiti, who lived (...)." This object reflects the distinctive religious reforms of the Amarna period, a brief era in Egyptian history when Akhenaten introduced monotheistic worship centered on the sun deity Aten. In this longer version of her name, Queen Nefertiti, who was deeply involved in the religious reforms of her husband, is referred to as "Nefernefruaton," which can be translated as "Beautiful are the beauties of Aten."