Feminine Beauty Ideals in Ancient Egyptian Art. Have we really changed?

Photo By DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images and Universal History Archive

This is an academic essay written for an Ancient Egyptian Art paper at the University of Auckland.
(Marked by Professor Jennifer Hellum.)

Much like today, artwork from ancient Egypt indicates that beauty ideals and standards differed according to gender. In ancient Egyptian art, elite women were consistently depicted as young and slim, while elite men could be portrayed as aged and fat. 1 Beauty standards also differed slightly between elite women and common women. There are a few notable exceptions to these standards found in the Armana period, however these deviations did not last. This essay will analyse the differing beauty standards of men and women in ancient Egypt by analysing relevant artwork. It will then explore the contemporary relevance of these ideals, and address how modern academics have interpreted ancient Egyptian art, often influenced by their own preconceived biases.  

Elite male figures, particularly kings, and nobility, were often depicted as lean, youthful, and muscular, with broad shoulders, slim waists, and toned muscles- however, not all representations adhered to these ideals. From the Middle Kingdom onwards, we begin to see a regular departure from the strong, slim, youthful appearance previously displayed in the artworks of kings and elites. Men began to be depicted with tired, wrinkled faces and rolling, bulging bellies. Academics believe these changes occurred as age and excess weight became a positive, desired quality in men, as signs of ageing and weight gain signified an accumulation of wisdom and status.2  

Figure 1-An example of an old tired king.

Head of Sesostris III (Senworset III),  
Berlin; after K. Lange, Sesostris (munich, 1954). 

Examples of ageing elite men can be found in numerous statues of the time. Senworset III (12th Dynasty) is one of the first Egyptian kings depicted with realistic, ageing features, such as deep lines on his face, sunken cheeks, nasal labial folds, sagging eye bags, a lopsided mouth and a furrowed brow (Figure 1). His statues show a tired, careworn expression that contrasts sharply with the idealized, ageless images of his predecessors. Janine Bourriau describes these faces as showing “a deepening expression of sorrow and disdain...the burden of being Pharoh etching its way into their faces”.3 Such an interpretation shared by many academics suggests that signs of ageing in artwork were not only appropriate for kings and elites but may also have been depicting an idealized version of themselves as serious, wise, hard workers. 

Figure 2-A voluptuous Elite man.

Statue of Hemiunu from Giza G4000,  
Hildesheim 1962, Courtesy Pelizeaus-Museum, Hildesheim 

Elite men being shown as overweight was also common throughout Egypt's history, particularly when it came to depictions of scribes and viziers. Early representations feature elite men with rounded abdomens and multiple fat rolls on the lower torso.4 For instance, the famous seated statue of Hemiunu, depicts a corpulent figure with a protruding stomach and sagging lopsided breasts (Figure 2). The excess weight of these elite men suggests that body fat could be associated with intellectual pursuits and status, as it illustrates that they had access to plentiful food, and no need for manual labour.5 The distinction between representations of manual labourers—depicted with more slender, sinewy bodies—and elite men underscores how body ideals were closely linked to one's role in society, much like they were for women.6 However, for elite women, there was little interest in being depicted by the processes of ageing and childbearing.7  

Female beauty standards in ancient Egypt were considerably more static than men's, and predominantly centred around ideals of fertility and youth, with little deviation from these norms. Women were consistently portrayed with youthful figures characterised by narrow waists, slim abdomens, full hips, and high breasts. These attributes likely symbolised fertility, femininity, and youth, underscoring the importance of these roles in Egyptian culture.8 Graves-Brown also suggests that depictions of such women in tomb reliefs and paintings served to arouse men in the afterlife.9 Portrayals of older or larger women were rare, and when they did occur, they were notable for their exceptionalism.10 However, the scarcity of such representations should not be interpreted as an absence of older or heavier women in elite society. 

Figure 3 

Hatshepsut, Seated limestone statue of Hatshepsut,  

c. 1479–c. 1458 bce; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. 

There is clear evidence that overweight women existed in ancient Egypt, as demonstrated by the examination of human remains. Several male and female mummies have been identified as overweight, including a notable discovery in 2007 of a mummy potentially belonging to the female king, Hatshepsut.11 The body was deemed as ‘obese’ with decayed teeth, and balding hair. If this is indeed the mummy of the female King, it presents an interesting example of the idealised nature of royal female depictions in Egyptian art, as none of the artwork that remains of Hatshepsut depicts her as either old or obese.  Unusually, Hatshepsut presented herself as both a female and a male king with masculine attributes, however, unlike male kings, all of our depictions of Hatshepsut in statues, paintings and tomb reliefs depict a young, slim figure (Figure 3).12 The patriarchal standards of kingship at the time imposed masculinity on Hatshepsut along with conventional feminine beauty ideals, demonstrating that even the most powerful women were not immune to societal pressure to conform to slim and youthful ideals.  

Another example of fat women existing in Egypt and its art can be found in depictions of the Queen of Punt. Temple reliefs from the 18th Dynasty depict a short-statured, round woman with many folds of fat enveloping her thighs and stomach (Figure 4). Her unusual appearance stood out to Egyptologists examining the site who did not hold back in their descriptions of her. Tyldesley describes her as; “grotesquely fat, with her wobbling, blancmange-like folds of flab and enormous thighs” and ads that she “presents a marked contrast the stereotyped image of the upper-class Egyptian woman as a slender and serene beauty”.13 Some Egyptologists have theorized that the Queen's unusual fatness was an ideological depiction meant to emphasize her foreign “otherness” from royal Egyptian women.14 Either way, this is an obvious divergence from the standard beauty norms for elite women in Egyptian artwork. 

Figure 4  

Illustration of the royal family of Punt bringing goods (Photo credit: Edwards,1981), Drawn from Temple Paintings at the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut Deir el-Bahri Thebes, MMA (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) in 1928 

Beauty standards and class were also closely intertwined. Servants and lower-class women were somewhat immune to the elite idealized beauty standards, indicating that socioeconomic factors also impacted beauty standards for women. Although still reasonably uncommon, it is not unusual to find depictions of older women with sagging breasts and wrinkled faces performing manual labour in various forms of tomb artworks.15 For example, an Old Kingdom statue shows a woman with drooping breasts and a sagging face, squatting on the ground by a grinding apparatus (Figure 5). Sweeney suggests that this difference in representation was class-motivated, meant to highlight the contrast between the elite and the “peasants”, as elite royals were never depicted in such a manner.16  

Figure 5 Usually only lower status women were showing with ageing figures.
Figure of a miller from the Old Kingdom. Cliché RMN, modèle de la meunière âgée: Les Frères Chuzeville 

A couple of exceptions to the slim and young rule for elite women in Egyptian art can be found in the Amarna period. A significant shift in the representation of the ideal body occurred during the reign of Akhenaten (18th Dynasty), who introduced a radical departure from traditional Egyptian religion and art. The change in artwork included an unusual portrayal of his family’s bodies where both the king and queen were depicted with soft, round ‘saggy features’ including slim arms, pudgy bellies with rolls, large almond eyes, and large egg-shaped heads. These changes were a far step away from the toned and strong portrayals of previous kings. One of the most recognizable artworks from this period is the limestone altar relief depicting Akhenaten and his wife, Nefertiti, playing with their children (Figure 6). Both the king and queen exhibit unusual body features characteristic of the artistic conventions of the period, including rounded, slightly protruding abdomens. The queen's rounded belly likely emphasizes her status as a bearer of children, reinforcing the cultural association of fertility with female royalty.17  

Figure 6 

Egyptian art in the Armana Period. A house altar depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three of their Daughters. Relief. Limestone. New Kingdom. Amarna period. 18th dynasty. C. 1350 B.C. Egyptian Museum of Berlin. Germany. 

Figure 7 

Portrait of Queen Tiye with a Crown of Two Feathers, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, ca. 1355 BC, yew wood, silver, gold, and faience inlays, Medinet el-Gurob, total height 22.5 cm. 

© bpk / Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, SMB / Sandra Steiß 

The Amarna period also presents a unique depiction of an elite older woman, albeit subtly and with continued emphasis on elegance, as seen in the renowned bust of Queen Tiye. In this portrait, Tiye is portrayed with grace and beauty, while the presence of slight wrinkles around her almond-shaped eyes suggests her advanced age (Figure 7). It has been proposed that this depiction may be an effort to liken her to the venerable and wise elder male elites.18 Kara Cooney suggests that older women were rarely depicted in ancient Egyptian art as their post-menopausal status is of less value to society than young, fertile women were.19 Thus, Queen Tiye was an exception meant to show her authority rather than her youth and fertility.  

Figure 8 

Torso of Queen Nefertari, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, Amarna Period, reign of Akhenaten, ca. 1353-1336 BC. Red quartzite, height: 29 cm. Now in the Louvre, Paris. E 25409 stand out

Depictions of fuller-figured elite women also appeared uniquely during the Amarna period. One notable example is a statue of a princess (or possibly Nefertari) with a curvaceous lower body (Figure 8). The torso of this dark reddish quartzite statue maintains a narrow waist and small breasts but features remarkably wide hips and lower body. The pronounced belly, buttocks, and thighs, especially when viewed in profile, evoke imagery of predynastic Great Mother Goddess figures, once again emphasising the importance of fertility in female representations.20 

Akhenaten’s new artistic representations were considered controversial and were short-lived, as later rulers quickly reverted to traditional idealised depictions of both male and female forms.21 However, the Amarna period illustrates that body ideals were not fixed but fluid, adapting to changes in religious and political ideologies. 

A key takeaway from ancient Egyptian art is the persistence of narrow beauty standards for women, which continue to prioritise youth, slimness, and symbols of fertility over realistic portrayals. This enduring focus reflects the ongoing celebration of idealised feminine body traits rather than the representation of women in their diverse and authentic forms. Today, media, advertising, and celebrity culture heavily influences perceptions of the "perfect" body, promoting narrow and often unrealistic standards of beauty. The widespread portrayal of slim, toned, and youthful bodies, especially for women, mirrors the Egyptian emphasis on youth and fertility, while men are given a much wider berth. For example, the term ‘dad bod’ denotes a promotion of a realistic, chubby, unsculptured body shape of older men and is widely accepted in the media and society to be attractive, while no such term exists for women even though they are the ones subject to the demands of pregnancy and motherhood. 

Examples of modern Egyptologists’ narrow understandings of beauty ideals are also evident in their interpretations of Egyptian art. Tyldesley addresses the Queen of Punt with numerous negative physical descriptors such as “grotesque” and asserts that the Queen is “evidently too fat to walk”, even though the image clearly depicts her walking (Figure 4).22 The scholarship and examination surrounding of the Queen of Punt is a perfect example of how slim and young beauty standards still dominate much of the world today.   

King Hatshepsut was also not immune to derogatory remarks in the comparison of her artwork to her suggested mummified remains. Meredith F. Small, an anthropology professor formally at Cornell University wrote a scathingly sexist article about Hatshepsut's remains that perfectly reflects modern society’s ageism, fatphobia and unrealistic beauty standards for women. The article describes Hatshepsut as a “50-year-old fat lady” and suggests that the King used her power in Egypt to eat well and abundantly. Small says, “Hatshepsut also suffered from what all women over 40 need—a stylist.”, referring to her balding hair.23 So, if not even one of the most powerful women in history is immune from unrealistic, idealised beauty standards in both ancient Egypt and the modern world, what hope is there for the rest of us? After all, weight gain and wrinkles are a natural part of ageing that most women will face.  

The changes during the Amarna period offer a potential point of reflection, as the shifting beauty ideals of that time demonstrate the possibility of fluidity in societal standards and the representation of bodies. In the same way that Akhenaten's representation challenged traditional ideals, modern movements advocating for body positivity and inclusivity are disrupting the narrow beauty standards perpetuated by mass media. These movements call for a broader acceptance of diverse body types, celebrating the natural variations of human form rather than adhering to the unrealistic and monolithic ideal of slim and young. We can only hope that this modern movement lasts longer than Akhenaten's artistic revolution did.  

References 

Arnold, Dorothea. The Royal Women of Amarna: Images of Beauty from Ancient Egypt. New York:Metropolitan Museum of Art : Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, 1996. 

Assman, Jan. “Preservation and Presentation of Self in Ancient Egyptian Portraiture.” In Studies in Honor of William Kelly Simpson, 1:55–81. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1996. 

Bourriau, Janine. Pharohs and Mortals. Egyptian Art in the Middle Kingdom. Cambridge: University Press, 1988. 

Cooney, Kara. “Afterlives.” Body Shaming (and Positivity) in Ancient Egypt, 2022. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Kfb5SPWZ8dhkUgeIFOpSw. 

Graves-Brown, Carolyn. Dancing for Hathor: Women in Ancient Egypt. London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2010. 

Kratovac, Katarina. “Mummy Is Missing Female Pharaoh.” The Guardian, 2007. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2007/jun/28/artnews.egypt. 

Robins, Gay. “Gender and Sexuality.” In A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art, edited by Melinda K. Hartwig, 120–40. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell, 2015. 

Samuels, Tristan. “Undoing the Hottentoting of ‘the Queen of Punt’ A Jamaican Afronography on the Kemetiu Depiction of Ati of Punt.” Journal of Black Studies 52, no. 1 (January 2021): 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934720945360. 

Small, Meredith F. “Mummy Reveals Egyptian Queen Was Fat, Balding and Bearded.” Live Science, 2007. https://www.livescience.com/7336-mummy-reveals-egyptian-queen-fat-balding- bearded.html. 

Sweeney, Deborah. “Forever Young? The Representation of Older and Ageing Women in Ancient Egyptian Art.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 41 (2004): 67–84. https://doi.org/10.2307/20297188. 

Tyldesley, Joyce A. Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh. London: Penguin, 1998. 

Watterson, Barbara. Women in Ancient Egypt. 1st ed. New York: St Martin’s Press, 1991.