Neferneferuaten Tasherit

For other individuals named Neferneferuaten, seeNeferneferuaten (disambiguation).

Neferneferuaten Tasherit
King's Daughter
Neferneferuaten Tasherit (right) andNeferneferureon a wall painting in the King's house
Egyptianname
Dynasty	18th Dynasty
Father	Akhenaten
Mother	Nefertiti

Neferneferuaten TasheritorNeferneferuaten the younger(Ancient Egyptian:Nfr nfrw Jtn tꜣšrjt,meaningmost beautiful one of Aten – younger) (14th century BCE) was anancient Egyptianprincess of the18th Dynastyand the fourth daughter ofPharaohAkhenatenand hisGreat Royal WifeNefertiti.

Family

Neferneferuaten was born between c. year 8and 9of her father's reign. She was the fourth of six known daughters of the royal couple. It is likely that she was born inAkhetaten,the capital founded by her father. Her nameNeferneferuaten( "Beauty of the Beauties of Aten" or "Most Beautiful One of Aten" ) is the exact copy of the name Nefertiti took in the 5th regnal year. ( "Ta-sherit" simply means "the younger" ).She had three older sisters namedMeritaten,Meketaten,andAnkhesenpaaten(later known as Ankhesenamun), and two younger sisters namedNeferneferureandSetepenre.

Life

From left to right: Setepenre, Neferneferure, and Neferneferuaten Tasherit at the Durbar in year 12.

One of the earliest depictions of Neferneferuaten Tasherit is on a mural from the King's House in Amarna. She is depicted sitting on a pillow with her sisterNeferneferure.The fresco is dated to c. year 9 ofAkhenaten,and the entire family is depicted, including the babySetepenre.

Neferneferuaten Tasherit is depicted in several tombs in Amarna and appears on monuments. A statue base originally from Amarna, but later moved to Heliopolis, mentions theAtenand Akhenaten, while in texts in a lower register the royal daughtersAnkhesenpaatenand Neferneferuaten Tasherit are mentioned.

In the tomb ofHuya,the chief Steward of Neferneferuaten's grandmother QueenTiye,Neferneferuaten is shown in a family scene on a lintel on the north wall. The extended scene shows Akhenaten and Nefertiti on the left with their four eldest daughters, while on the right hand sideAmenhotep III,Queen Tiye and princessBaketatenare shown.In the reward scene in the tomb of Meryre II, Neferneferuaten Tasherit is shown with four of her sisters (only Setepenre in absent).

She is depicted at the Durbar in year 12 in the tomb of the Overseer of the royal quarters Meryre II in Amarna. Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shown seated in a kiosk, receiving tribute from foreign lands. The daughters of the royal couple are shown standing behind their parents. Neferneferuaten is the first daughter in the lower register. She is holding an object which is too damaged to identify. Her sisters Neferneferure and Setepenre are standing behind her. Neferneferure is shown holding a pet gazelle and Setepenre is shown reaching over to pet the animal.

Neferneferuaten also appears in the award scene of Panehesy. She is shown standing in the building near the window of appearance as her parents,AkhenatenandNefertiti,bestow honors upon the first servant of the Aten named Panehesy. In another scene in this tomb Neferneferuaten and her three older sisters all accompany their parents who are shown offering flowers to the Aten. The four royal daughters are all shown holding bouquets of flowers.

Neferneferuaten Tasherit is shown with her sistersMeritatenand Ankhesenpaaten mourning the death ofMeketatenin c. year 14 in theRoyal TombinAmarna.Her younger sisters Neferneferure and Setepenre are not present in this scene.

Meketaten under the canopy, on the wall paintings of the Chamber$\gamma$.In front of her: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Meritaten, Ankhesenpaaten and Neferneferuaten Tasherit.

Final years and death

It is unknown what became of Neferneferuaten Tasherit, but it has been suggested she died beforeTutankhamunand Ankhesenpaaten came to the throne.It is possible she was one of the persons buried in chamber$\alpha$in theRoyal TombinAmarna.

It was previously suggested byJames Allenin 2009that she might be identified asAkhenaten's co-regent.whose exact identity is still disputed, but who could have been a woman.

• However, in an updated 2016 article, James Allen has now repudiated his previous opinion that Neferneferuaten-tasherit was the female pharaoh Neferneferuaten. Allen now agrees that this female king was indeed Nefertiti instead with the publication of the Year 16 date showing that Nefertiti was still alive in Akhenaten's second last year of rule.Other women who have been suggested as candidates for the identity of this female ruler are QueenNefertiti(her mother) and her older sisterMeritaten.