Ancient and Contemporary: Amarna Period Egypt at the Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn, New York

A fantastic collection of Amarna Period (c 1350 bc) Egyptian sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum.

The Amarna Period collection at the Brooklyn Museum is a standout for any architect because it documents a tectonic revolution. When Akhenaten moved the capital to Amarna, he didn’t just change the gods; he shattered the rigid, right-angled “grid” of Egyptian artistic canon.

The Amarna Sculpture: the Fluid Body

In the Brooklyn galleries, you see the shift from the idealized, eternal “stone” body to something fluid, organic, and at times grotesque.

The Indented Silhouette: Look at the fragments of relief. The Amarna style introduced a “sunken relief” technique that used deep, carved shadows to define form, making the figures pop against the limestone walls like high-contrast architectural sections.

Materiality and Softness: The collection features several exquisite heads of royal women (likely Nefertiti or her daughters). Notice the plasticity of the limestone. The elongated skulls and heavy-lidded eyes aren’t just stylistic choices; they reflect a new geometry in sculpture that rejected the stiff, cubic geometry of the Old Kingdom.

Pairing: The Ancient Egyptian Mash

After you visit the stone, you must consider the beer. In Ancient Egypt, beer (hek) wasn’t just a beverage; it was liquid bread and a primary source of nutrition for the laborers building the temples.

The “Bruma” Technique (Ancient Brewing)

Ancient Egyptian brewing was a “bio-tectonic” process that differed significantly from modern technique:

They malted bread. They didn’t soak grain. They baked “beer bread” — partially cooked loaves made from sprouted (malted) barley or emmer wheat. The baking “set” the structure but kept the enzymes alive.

These loaves were crumbled into large ceramic vats filled with water and dates for sugar fermentation. The “vessels” were often buried in the cool earth.

The result wasn’t a clear, filtered pilsner. It was thick, opaque, and highly nutritious.

Since you can’t grab a jar of 1350 BCE emmer ale at the Brooklyn Museum café, I suggest pairing your visit with a Saison or a Gruit.