Matei Tichindelean - Digital Reconstruction of the Akhenaten Torso in the Brooklyn Museum
Channel: Digital Classicist London Seminars
Date: 2022-05-27

Digital Classicist London Seminar (Full programme: https://www.digitalclassicist.org/wip/wip2021.html)
Friday May 27, 2022, 17:00 (UK time/UTC+1)

Matei Tichindelean (UCLA)
Digital Reconstruction of the Akhenaten Torso in the Brooklyn Museum

The Torso of Akhenaten (inv. No. 58.2) in the Brooklyn Museum is an excellent example of Amarna style sculpture—an artistic technique employed during the reign of the “heretic” pharaoh Akhenaten. This study uses photogrammetry to render an accurate 3D state model and a subsequent reconstruction model intended to help address questions regarding the nature of worship centered on the Aten. The reconstruction is based on theological and royal iconography specific to the Amarna period. It sheds light on the religious reorganization of the New Solar Theology and aims to facilitate a better understanding of the role of royal statuary in the context of an Egyptian temple. 

Most of the literature surrounding statues of Akhenaten concentrates on the theme of the artistic and religious revolution associated with his reign. Even though there are many art-historical discussions about the theological implications of Amarna art, the questions that this study attempts to answer focus mainly on royal statuary and more specifically the cultic purpose it played in ritual activity. What was the intended audience for this type of statuary? Where was the statue originally located? What role did the statuary serve? Possible answers will be presented illustrated by an accurate 3D model of the current state of the statue, rendered using photogrammetry. After these preliminary issues have been settled, the Brooklyn torso will be digitally restored in order to present the range of possibilities concerning its original condition and then reintegrated into its original context in order to better understand how it functioned.