The golden throne of Tutankhamun is believed to have been inspired by the worship of the sun disk god, Aten. From the images on the throne alone, one can already see the prominent feature of Aten at the topmost center of the seat with its rays extending toward Tutankhamun and his queen, Ankhesenamun. This is also the only portion of the seat where unbroken gold was solely used probably since a diety as great as Aten cannot be represented by any lesser metal. Looking closely, we can also observe the hands of Aten extending to the nostrils of Tut and his wife. The sun god is holding the ankh, which is the Egyptian symbol for the key of life and so, the king and queen are depicted as receiving eternal life from Aten. Both of these features can also be observed in the relief of Akhenaten and his family.
Further readings also suggested that the throne was originally built not for Tutankhamun, but for his father, Akhenaten. Two of the strong evidences that would suggest this are the use of a triangular navel and the inclusion of fat folds as a portrayal of the king. Most inscribed images of Tutankhamun show him having a round navel but for some reason, the image on this throne depicted the triangular Amarna-type of navel, which was prevalent during the reign of Akhenaten. In the same note, the use of three lines on the king’s torso is never used to depict Tutankhamun. In fact, this is the fat folds of Akhenaten. This again, is an Amarna phenomenon of representing royal figures. These odd features can also be found in the relief of Akhenaten and his family.
The throne of Tutankhamun is almost completely covered in sheets of gold. The seat is actually made of wood but covered in gold. The whole throne is adorned with more than 2,000 squares of gold, calcite and faience. The skins of the Tutankhamun and his wife are depicted in chiseled red glass and light blue faience was used for their wigs. Their robes are made of silver sheets and adorned with colored glass, faience and calcite.
References:
- Bulian, F., & Graystone, J. (2009). Wood Coatings: Theory and Practice. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=djtw17MPrTsC
- Hawass, Z. A. (2003). Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty – first Century: Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists Cairo, 2000. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=pJ48YP14qZQC
- Welsh, F. (2007). Tutankhamun’s Egypt. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=rqFwXcf5S6cC
