Wooden Figure of Akhenaten

Carved in wood and assembled from several sections, this small figure of the king stands on skinny legs with one foot in front of the other in a pose that appears almost tentative. In his novel "Joseph and his Brothers", the German novelist Thomas Mann ironically described the king's legs as "thin as a chicken's". But along with the almost feminine thighs and hips, the slight pot-belly, and the neck, which extends forward at an angle, the legs are standard features, and they're present in a large number of reliefs that show Akhenaten.

This image of the king is a complete departure from the ideal of the youthful hero who subdues Egypt's enemies with his strong arm and drawn bow and brings about political and cosmic order. With his religious reforms and the introduction of a monotheistic god, Akhenaten sets a new, revolutionary standard. His sun god, the Aten, is a god of peace who takes visible form in, and acts through, the realistic image of the king.