The sculptor outlined this figure with flowing brush strokes of black paint. In a sunken relief, the figure would then be carved out to lie below the surface of the stone slab. To make the outlines stand out, the sculptor would cut especially deeply at the edges.

This finished relief is fully carved, with complex patterns giving texture to the hair, and then painted.

Two princesses

Reign of Akhenaten, 1353–1336 B.C.
Limestone
Gift of Norbert Schimmel, 1985.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York