Welcome to my Per!
Hereīs a bit of info about the lady I portray:
Queen Ahmose Nefertari - (1570-1505 bc) was a New Kingdom influential
queen with political and religious titles. She was the spouse of Ahmose,
son of Queen Ahhotep, and itīs thought that she was his sister or
halfsister. Ahmose Nefertari was never a regent per sé, but through her,
we get some knowledge about the new political role of women in the early
18th Dynasty. As an example, she was the first one to carry the title of
God's Wife of Amun. This title was bestowed on her by Ahmose and the event
is recorded on a stele in the temple of Amun at Karnak. The stele also
tells that there was an endowment of goods and land together with the
office, which would stay with her and her heirs for all eternity.
Ahmose Nefertari was also thought to have been involved with the kingīs
building projects. The limestone quarries opposite Memphis, and the
alabaster quarries of Assiut displays her name, and on a stele at Abydos
there is an inscription by the king, saying that he sought her approval
before erecting it to the honor of his grandmother Tetisheri.
Often there are listed ritual offerings dedicated by queens and kings, but
those by Ahmose Nefertari, which have been found in temples at Karnak,
Abydos, Deir-el-Bahri and Serabit-el-Kadim in Sinai, outdoes them both
chronologically and numerically. This tells us of her involvement in the
cult, both concerning the buildings, the rituals, and the dedication of
ritual objects. Probably this was done in her capacity as Godīs Wife of
Amen, a title which she preferred to use instead of other royal titles
like 'kingīs wife' etc.
Ahmose Nefertari outlived both her husband and her son Amenhotep I. During
the next king, Thutmose I, she still enjoyed a high esteem, and the king
set up a statue of her in the temple at Karnak. The date of her death is
unknown, but a fragment of an inscription tells us: 'when the Godīs Wife
Ahmose Nefertari, justified with the great god, lord of the west, flew to
heaven'. Both during her lifetime and after, she overshadowed her sonīs
principal wife Meritamun, who, even though the title of Godīs Wife of Amun
was passed over to her, did not leave any significant traces.
Her importance lingered after her death. She and her son Amenhotep I was
deified and worshipped as their patrons in the workmenīs village at
Deir-el-Medina, where her cult survived all throughout the New Kingdom.
