This object once formed the bezel of a
stirrup-
shaped signet ring, which enjoyed great
popularity
during the course of the New Kingdom. The
motto
engraved into its top contains a single
column of
well-formed hieroglyphs which can be
translated
into English as, “The Aton [is the one who is]
great
of power!”
The Aton is sun disc itself, the cult of which
was
promoted to the status of a sole god during
the
religious revolution formulated by the so-
called
renegade pharaoh, Akhenaten, and his
beautiful
wife, Nefertiti at the end of Dynasty XVIII.
Because of
his repudiation of the traditional deities of
Egypt
and his transference of the capital from
Thebes to
Tell el-Amarna, Akhenaten has been called
one of
history’s first true individualists. His religious
reforms and hymns, which he himself
composed to
the Aton, resonate with sentiments
expressed in
certain Old Testament verses and express a
universalism which transcends time and
place. As a
result, Akhenaten and Nefertiti occupy a
special
place in the hearts of those who love
Egyptology.
Our ring is, therefore, a fitting reminder of
these
pioneering thinkers.
References:
For the development of such stirrup-shaped
signet
rings, see, Carol Andrews, Ancient Egyptian
Jewellery (London 1990), pages 164-165;
and for a
sympathetic view of Akhenaten and his
reforms, see,
Cyril Aldred, Akhenaten. King of Egypt
(London
1988).
Translation and interpretation kindly provided
by
Prof. Robert S. Bianchi.
