Lover’s hands

XVIIe dynastie (ca. 1350 BC).
Pharaoh Amenothep IV (Tutankhamun’s father) was much less interested in military affairs than his predecessors. He focused his attention on religion and the arts. He had himself called Akhnaton, which literally means: ‘Aton wishes it’, referring to in his mind, the only god, the sun god Aton. The introduction of monotheism soon encountered widespread resistance from both the priests and the people. The progressive Pharaoh did however manage to free the arts from the priests’ constrictive prescripts. From then on, gods and Pharaohs could be depicted in poses and scenes from daily life. Akhnaton’s loving hands and his beautiful wife Nefertiti are examples of this.