Introducing Ankhkheperure-mery-Neferkheperure-mery-Waenre-mery-Aten Neferneferuaten

Ankhkheperure-mery-Neferkheperure/-mery-Waenre/-mery-Aten Neferneferuaten was a woman who reigned as pharaoh towards the end of the Amarna Period during the Eighteenth Dynasty. Her gender is confirmed by feminine traces occasionally found in her name and by the epithet Akhet-en-hyes (“Effective for her husband”), incorporated into one version of her second cartouche.

She should be distinguished from the king who used the name Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare-Djeser Kheperu, but who didn’t include any epithets in his cartouche.

Several key elements central to the slow unveiling of the existence, gender, and identity of Neferneferuaten continue to be critical aspects of various theories today.

• The name of King Ankheprure Smenkhkare-Djeserkheperu was known as far back as 1845 from the tomb of Meryre II. There, he and Meritaten, bearing the title Great Royal Wife, are depicted rewarding the tomb’s owner. The king’s names have since been removed but were recorded by Lepsius circa 1850. A different scene on a different wall portrays the famous Durbar scene, dated to the twelfth regnal year.

• A calcite “globular vase” from the tomb of Tutankhamun bears the full double cartouche of Akhenaten alongside the full double cartouche of Smenkhkare. It is the only object to carry both names side by side.

Numerous artifacts in Tutankhamun’s tomb were originally meant for Neferneferuaten. Among them is Carter 261p(1), a striking gold pectoral depicting the goddess Nut. Other items include the stone sarcophagus, mummy wrappings, royal figurines, canopic items (such as the chest, coffinettes, and jar stoppers), various bracelets, and even shabti figures. Some items are believed to have been initially intended for a female based on the style, even when a name cannot be restored.