Funerary Figure of Isis, Singer of the Aten

Funerary Figure of Isis, Singer of the Aten

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This funerary figure belonged to a woman who had the title Singer of the Aten, the god worshipped by Akhenaten. Althought similar to a shabti, this figure is not inscribed with chapter six of the Book of the Dead (the shabti spell) and makes no mention of the funerary god Osiris. In a seeming paradox, but one that speaks of the strong psychological and cultural ties of ordinary Egyptians to the traditional religion, the owner is called Isis, the name of the great funerary goddess who was the wife of Osiris. The facial features, including the so-called "sfumato" eyes, closely resemble the style of Amarna.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Funerary Figure of Isis, Singer of the AtenFunerary Figure of Isis, Singer of the AtenFunerary Figure of Isis, Singer of the AtenFunerary Figure of Isis, Singer of the AtenFunerary Figure of Isis, Singer of the Aten

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.