Are Aegeans Depicted on Relief Block 1985.328.13 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York?

This short discussion aims to show that, contrary to some earlier suggestions, there are no good arguments that Cretans or Aegeans are depicted on relief block 1985.328.13 in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, also known as relief block nr. 254 from the Norbert Schimmel Collection. The chronologically closest representation of a bound prisoner from Keftiu, from the tomb of Kenamun (Amenhotep II), depicts him with a beard. Representations of Aegean emissaries earlier than the bound prisoner from Keftiu depicted in Kenamun’s tomb show them with a spiral fringe on the forehead. Both the fringe and the beard are absent from the presumed Aegean figures on MMA 1985.328.13. The hairstyle of the figures in question is well known in Amarna period iconography and is often found worn by bowing Egyptian male attendants, but also others.

Cretans, Aegens, etc.

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