Mutbenret

Who is Mutbenret?

Mutbenret was an Egyptian noblewoman, and said to be the Sister of the Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. Her name used to be read as Mutnedjemet. The hieroglyphs for nedjem and bener are similar and so is their meaning. The name is now thought to be Mutbenret however.

One theory holds that Mutbenret was the same person as Mutnedjmet the wife of Horemheb, the last ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty. But there is no conclusive evidence for this theory, and some challenge this theory.

Mutbenret appears in several of the Tombs of the Nobles at Amarna:

⁕In the tomb of Panehesy the presence of two dwarfs on a lintel in a register associated with an offering scene indicate that Mutbenret was depicted nearby.

⁕Mutbenret is depicted behind the royal princesses in the award scene for Parennefer.

⁕Mutbenret is depicted in the award scene for Tutu in tomb 8. In the register below the King and Queen we see the Queen's Sister Mutbenret with her two dwarfs, several fan bearers and the nurses of the Princesses.

⁕In the tomb of May the royal family is shown worshipping the Aten. Akhenaten and Nefertiti are accompanied by three princesses. Meritaten and Meketaten are named as the two princesses in the lower register; the third princess depicted above them is most likely Ankhesenpaaten. All three are shown shaking a sistrum. Above the princesses we see the Queen's sister Mutbenret accompanied by her two dwarfs.