Ahhotep I

Ahhotep I was an Ancient Egyptian queen who lived circa 1560–1530 BC. She was one of the worlds first warrior queens, and I was inspired by the artifacts found in her tomb. Inscriptions indicate she rounded up deserters during battle and took over as queen regent when her husband was killed. I loved giving this bad ass woman a face again.
“The weaponry and the “Golden Fly”, found in the tomb of Ahhotep, and the inscriptions of Ahmose, at Karnak, permit to confirm her active role during the Hyksos war. Queen Ahhotep received splendid ceremonial artifacts after the country was liberated from the Hyksos because of her bravery and support for her late husband and her two sons. The ceremonial artifacts (three golden fly pendants, a battle axe, and two models of ceremonial bark) found in her tomb were part of the funerary and ritual objects used to symbolize and guarantee the eternal victory of the order (maat) over the chaos (the enemies or evil forces).” -Graciela Gestoso Singer