The Authentication
After their own examination of the Amarna Princess Bolton Museum passed it on to others to evaluate, in accordance with their stated best practices. In the first instance this role fell to Christies, who valued the statue at £500,000. The British Museum also agreed that it was a genuine piece. It has not been revealed exactly what tests were taken or what criteria used to assess the authenticity of the Amarna Princess, beyond the declaration that provenance played "a vital part in the authentication because there was nothing to compare it with," apart from the Louvre Princess. Though in her analysis Angela Thomas, the Egyptology curator of the Bolton Museum, mentioned various other statues from the era as well, most notably the Penn Museum princess. Assessment was also hampered because of the difficulty of testing stone.
More than just impressed by the provenance experts also concluded that "although its head, arms and lower legs have not survived.. the statuette is the most impressive example of its kind in the world." Angela Thomas provided an analysis that suggested a close examination of the item itself. She noted the back pillar which showed that it was "once part of a double statue." Elements of its "extreme style" suggested it was an early era piece, which was enough for her to speculate on which of the six daughters the statue might represent, Meritaten – despite the absence of an inscription, or a head. She concluded the Amarna Princess was of "great significance."
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