Nefertiti Bust
Encyclopedia
The Nefertiti Bust is a 3300-year-old painted limestone
bust
of Nefertiti
, the Great Royal Wife
of the Egyptian
Pharaoh
Akhenaten
and is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt
. Due to the bust, Nefertiti has become one of the most famous women from the ancient world as well as an icon of female beauty. It is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose
.
A German archeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt
discovered the Nefertiti bust in 1912 in Thutmose's workshop in Amarna
, Egypt
. It has been kept at several locations in Germany since its discovery, including a salt mine in Merkers-Kieselbach
, the Dahlem museum (then in West Berlin
), the Egyptian Museum in Charlottenburg
and the Altes Museum
. It is currently on display at the Neues Museum
, Berlin, where it was displayed before World War II
.
The Nefertiti bust has become a cultural symbol of Berlin
, Germany
as well as of ancient Egypt. It has also been the subject of an intense argument between Egypt and Germany over the Egyptian demands for its repatriation. It was dragged into controversies over the Body of Nerfertiti art exhibition and also by allegations regarding its authenticity
.
Nefertiti (literally "the beautiful one has come") was the 14th-century BC Great Royal Wife
(chief consort) of the Egyptian
Pharaoh
Akhenaten
of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
. Akhenaten initiated a new monotheistic form of worship called Atenism
dedicated to the Sun disc Aten
. Little is known about Nefertiti. Theories suggest she could have been an Egyptian royal by birth, a foreign princess or the daughter of a high government official named Ay
, who became pharaoh after Tutankhamun
. She may have been the co-regent of Egypt with Akhenaten, who ruled from 1352 BC to 1336 BC. Nefertiti bore six daughters to Akhenaten, one of whom, Ankhesenpaaten
(later known as Ankhesenamun), married Tutankhamun, Nefertiti's stepson. Nefertiti disappears from history in the twelfth year of Akhenaten's reign, though whether this is due to her death or because she took a new name is not known. She may also have later become a pharaoh in her own right, ruling alone for a short time after her husband's death.
The bust of Nefertiti is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose
. The bust does not have any inscriptions, but was identified as Nefertiti as it wears the characteristic crown that Nefertiti was known to wear.
by the German Oriental Company
(Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft – DOG), led by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt
. It was found in what had been the sculptor Thutmose's workshop, along with other unfinished busts of Nefertiti. Borchardt's diary provides the main written account of the find; he remarks, "Suddenly we had in our hands the most alive Egyptian artwork. You cannot describe it with words. You must see it."
A 1924 document found in the archives of the German Oriental Company recalls the 20 January 1913 meeting between Ludwig Borchardt and a senior Egyptian official to discuss the division of the archeological finds of 1912 between Germany and Egypt. According to the secretary of the German Oriental Company (who was the author of the document and who was present at the meeting), Borchardt "wanted to save the bust for us". Borchardt is suspected to have concealed the bust's real value, although he denied doing so.
While Philipp Vandenberg describes the coup as "adventurous and beyond comparison", Time
magazine lists it among the "Top 10 Plundered Artifacts". Borchardt showed the Egyptian official a photograph of the bust "that didn't show Nefertiti in her best light". The bust was wrapped up in a box when Egypt's chief antiques inspector Gustave Lefebvre
came for inspection. The document reveals that Borchardt claimed the bust was made of gypsum
to mislead the inspector. The German Oriental Company blames the negligence of the inspector and points out that the bust was at the top of the exchange list and says the deal was done fairly.
, a wholesale merchant and the sponsor of the Amarna excavation. It was displayed at Simon's residence until 1913, when Simon loaned the bust and other artifacts from the Amarna dig to the Berlin Museum. Although the rest of the Amarna collection was displayed in 1913–14, Nefertiti was kept secret at the request of Borchardt. In 1918, the Museum discussed the public display of the bust, but again kept it secret on the request of Borchardt. It was permanently donated to the Berlin Museum in 1920. Finally, in 1923, the bust was first unveiled to the public in Borchart's writing and later in 1924, displayed to the public as part of the Egyptian Museum of Berlin
. The Nefertiti bust was displayed in Berlin’s Neues Museum
on Museum Island
until the museum was closed in 1939; with the onset of World War II
, the Berlin museums were emptied and the artifacts moved to secure shelters for safekeeping. Nefertiti was initially stored in the cellar of the Prussian Governmental Bank and then, in the autumn of 1941, moved to the tower of a flak bunker
in Berlin. The Neues Museum suffered bombings in 1943 by the Royal Air Force
. On 6 March 1945, the bust was moved to a German salt mine at Merkers-Kieselbach
in Thuringia
.
In March 1945, the bust was found by the American Army and given over to its Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives branch. It was moved to the Reichsbank
in Frankfurt and then, in August, shipped to the U.S. Central Collecting Point in Wiesbaden
where it was displayed to the public in 1946. In 1956, the bust was returned to West Berlin
. There it was displayed at the Dahlem Museum. As early as 1946, East Germany (German Democratic Republic) insisted on the return of Nefertiti to Museum Island in East Berlin
, where the bust had been displayed before the war. In 1967, Nefertiti was moved in the Egyptian Museum in Charlottenburg
and remained there until 2005, when it was moved to the Altes Museum
. The bust returned to the Neues Museum as its centerpiece when the museum reopened in October 2009.
, the Nazi
Luftwaffe
minister, considered returning the bust to King Farouk Fouad
of Egypt as a political gesture. Hitler opposed the idea, and told the Egyptian government that he would build a new Egyptian museum for Nefertiti: "In the middle, this wonder, Nefertiti, will be enthroned, ... I will never relinquish the head of the Queen." While the bust was under American control, Egypt requested the United States
to hand it over; the USA refused and advised Egypt to take up the matter with the new German authorities. In 1989, the Egyptian President Mohamed Mubarak
viewed the bust and announced that Nefertiti was "the best ambassador for Egypt" in Berlin.
Dr. Zahi Hawass
, the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities
, believes that Nefertiti belongs to Egypt and that the bust was taken out of Egypt illegally and should therefore be returned. Dr. Hawass has maintained the stance that Egyptian authorities were misled over the acquisition of Nefertiti in 1913. He has demanded that Germany prove that it was exported legally. According to Kurt G. Siehr, another argument in support of repatriation is that "Archeological finds have their 'home' in the country of origin and should be preserved in that country." The Nefertiti repatriation issue sprang up again in 2003 over the Body of Nefertiti sculpture (See Controversy). In 2005, Hawass requested UNESCO
to intervene to return the bust.
In 2007, Hawass threatened to ban exhibitions of Egyptian artifacts in Germany if Nefertiti was not lent to Egypt, but to no avail. Hawass also requested a worldwide boycott of loans to German museums to initiate what he calls a "scientific war". Hawass wants Germany to at least loan the bust to Egypt in 2012 for the opening of the new Grand Egyptian Museum near the Great Pyramids of Giza. Simultaneously, a campaign called "Nefertiti Travels" was launched by cultural association CulturCooperation, based in Hamburg
, Germany. They distributed postcards depicting the bust of Nefertiti with the words "Return to Sender" and wrote an open letter to the German Culture Minister, Bernd Neumann
, supporting the view that Egypt should be given the bust on loan. In 2009, when Nefertiti moved back to the Neues Museum – her old home, the appropriateness of Berlin as the bust's location was questioned.
Several German art experts have attempted to refute all the claims made by Hawass, pointing to the 1924 document discussing the pact between Borchart and the Egyptian authorities, though, as discussed earlier, Borchart has been accused of foul play in the deal. The German authorities have also argued the bust is too fragile to transport and that the legal arguments for the repatriation were insubstantial. According to The Times
, Germany may be concerned that lending the bust to Egypt would mean its permanent departure from Germany.
In December 2009 Friederike Seyfried, the director of Berlin's Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, presented to the Egyptians documents held by the museum regarding the discovery of the bust which include a protocol signed by the German excavator of the bust and the Egyptian Antiquities Service. In the documents, the object was listed as a painted plaster bust of a princess. But in the diary of Ludwig Borchardt he clearly referred to it as the head of Nefertiti. "This proves that Borchardt wrote this description so that his country can get the statue," Hawass commented "These materials confirm Egypt's contention that (he) did act unethically with intent to deceive." However, Hawass said Egypt didn't consider the Nefertiti bust to be a looted antiquity. Still, it is one of a handful of truly singular Egyptian antiquities still in foreign hands."I really want it back," he said. Hawass' statement quoted the director of the museum as saying the authority to approve the return of the bust to Egypt lies with the Prussian Cultural Heritage and the German culture minister.
core covered with painted stucco
layers. The face is completely symmetrical and almost intact, but the left eye lacks the inlay present in the right. The pupil of the right eye is of inserted quartz
with black paint and is fixed with beeswax. The background of the eye-socket is unadorned limestone. Nefertiti wears her characteristic blue crown known as "Nefertiti cap crown" with a golden diadem band, that is looped around like horizontal ribbons and joining at the back, and an Uraeus
(cobra) over her brow – which is now broken. She also wears a broad collar with a floral pattern on it. The ears also have suffered some damage. Gardner's Art Through the Ages
suggests that "With this elegant bust, Thutmose may have been alluding to a heavy flower on its slender sleek stalk by exaggerating the weight of the crowned head and the length of the almost serpentine neck."
According to David Silverman, the Nefertiti bust reflects the classical Egyptian art
style, deviating from the "eccentricities" of the Amarna art
style, which was developed in Akhenaten's reign. The exact function of the bust is unknown, though it is theorized that the bust may be a sculptor's model.
Dietrich Wildung proposed that the bust in Berlin was a model for official portraits and was used by the master sculptor for teaching his pupils how to carve the internal structure of the eye, and thus the left iris was not added. Gardner's Art Through the Ages and Silverman presents a similar view that the bust was deliberately kept unfinished. Hawass suggested that Thutmose had created the left eye, but it was later destroyed.
– where the bust was then displayed – observed wrinkles on Nefertiti's neck and bags under her eyes, suggesting the sculptor had tried to depict signs of aging. A CT scan confirmed Wildung's findings; Thutmose had added gypsum under the cheeks and eyes in an attempt to perfect his sculpture, Wildung explained.
The CT scan in 2006 – led by Alexander Huppertz, the director of the Imaging Science Institute in Berlin, revealed a wrinkled face of Nefertiti carved in the inner core of the bust. The results were published in the April 2009 Radiology
journal. The scan revealed that Thutmose has placed layers of varying thickness on top of the limestone core. The inner face has creases around her mouth and cheeks and a swelling on the nose. The creases and the bump on the nose are leveled by the outermost stucco layer. According to Huppertz, this may reflect "aesthetic ideals of the era". The 2006 scan provided greater detail than the 1992 one – revealing subtle details just 1–2 mm under the stucco.
, Andras Galik and Balint Havas, to place the bust atop a nearly nude female bronze for a video installation to be shown at the Venice Biennale
modern art festival. The project called the Body of Nefertiti was an attempt – according to the artists – to pay homage to the bust. According to Wildung, it showed "the continued relevance of the ancient world to today's art." However, Egyptian cultural officials took offense and proclaimed it to be a disgrace to "one of the great symbols of their country's history". As a consequence, they also banned Wildung and his wife from further exploration in Egypt. The Egyptian Minister for Culture, Farouk Hosny
, declared that Nefertiti was "not in safe hands", and though Egypt had not renewed their claims for restitution "due to the good relations with Germany", this "recent behaviour" was unacceptable.
n prince, Johann Georg
, Borchardt pretended it was genuine to avoid offending the prince. Stierlin argues that the missing left eye of the bust would have been a sign of disrespect in ancient Egypt, that no scientific records of the bust appear until 11 years after its supposed discovery, and while the paint pigments are ancient, the inner limestone core has never been dated. Ercivan suggests Borchardt's wife was the model for the bust, and both authors argue that it was not revealed to the public until 1924 because it was a fake. Another theory suggested that the existing Nefertiti bust was crafted in 1930s on Hitler's orders and the original was lost in World War II.
Dietrich Wildung dismissed the claims as a publicity stunt, as radiological tests, detailed computer tomography and material analysis have proved its authenticity. The pigments used on the bust have been matched to those used by ancient Egyptian artisans. The 2006 CT scan that discovered the "hidden face" of Nefertiti proved without doubt – according to Science News
– that the bust was genuine.
Egyptian authorities also dismissed Stierlin's theory. Dr. Zahi Hawass said "Stierlin is not a historian. He is delirious." Although Stierlin had argued "Egyptians cut shoulders horizontally" – Nefertiti had vertical shoulders, Hawass said that the new style seen in the Nefertiti bust is part of changes introduced by Akhenaten, the husband of Nefertiti. Hawass also claimed that the sculptor Thutmose had created the eye, but it was later destroyed.
.
Nefertiti has become an icon of Berlin's culture. Some 500,000 visitors see Nefertiti every year. The bust is described as "the best-known work of art from ancient Egypt, arguably from all antiquity". Her face is on postcards of Berlin and 1989 German postage stamps.
In 1930, the German press described the Nefertiti bust as their new monarch, personifying it as a queen. As the "'most precious ... stone in the setting of the diadem
' from the art treasures of 'Prussia Germany'", Nefertiti would re-establish the imperial German national identity after 1918. Hitler described the bust as "a unique masterpiece, an ornament, a true treasure", and pledged to build a museum to house it. By the 1970s, the bust had become an issue of national identity to both the German states – East Germany and West Germany - which were created after World War II. In 1999, Nefertiti appeared on an election poster for the green political party Bündis 90/Die Grünen
as a promise for cosmopolitan and multi-cultural environment with the slogan "Strong Women for Berlin!" According to Claudia Breger, another reason that the Nefertiti bust became associated with a German national identity was its place as a rival to the Tutankhamun find by the British, who then ruled Egypt.
The bust became an influence on popular culture with Jack Pierce's make-up work on Elsa Lanchester
's iconic hair style in the film Bride of Frankenstein
being inspired by it. In the Italian film Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile
(1961) Nefertiti is in love with the young sculptor Tumos (Thutmose), played by Edmund Purdom
, who is a friend of prince Amenophis (Akhenaten). Tumos loses Nefeterti to Akhenaten, but preserves his love for her in the famous sculpture.
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
of Nefertiti
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...
, the Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife or Chief King's Wife is the term used to refer to the chief wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. While most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife...
of the Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
Akhenaten
Akhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
and is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. Due to the bust, Nefertiti has become one of the most famous women from the ancient world as well as an icon of female beauty. It is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose
Thutmose (sculptor)
"The King's Favourite and Master of Works, the Sculptor Thutmose" , flourished 1350 BC, is thought to have been the official court sculptor of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten in the latter part of his reign...
.
A German archeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt
Ludwig Borchardt
Ludwig Borchardt was a German Egyptologist who was born in Berlin.-Life:Borchardt initially studied Architecture and later Egyptology under Adolf Erman. In 1895 he journeyed to Cairo and produced, with Gaston Maspero, the Catalogue of the Egyptian Museum...
discovered the Nefertiti bust in 1912 in Thutmose's workshop in Amarna
Amarna
Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. It has been kept at several locations in Germany since its discovery, including a salt mine in Merkers-Kieselbach
Merkers-Kieselbach
Merkers-Kieselbach is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany.-Salt mine:The Merkers area of the municipality is famous for its salt mine, in which large amounts of Nazi gold, and many stolen works of art were discovered by the United States Army in 1945. General Dwight D...
, the Dahlem museum (then in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
), the Egyptian Museum in Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte...
and the Altes Museum
Altes Museum
The Altes Museum , is one of several internationally renowned museums on Museum Island in Berlin, Germany. Since restoration work in 1966, it houses the Antikensammlung of the Berlin State Museums...
. It is currently on display at the Neues Museum
Neues Museum
The ' is a museum in Berlin, Germany, located to the north of the Altes Museum on Museum Island.It was built between 1843 and 1855 according to plans by Friedrich August Stüler, a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The museum was closed at the beginning of World War II in 1939, and was heavily...
, Berlin, where it was displayed before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The Nefertiti bust has become a cultural symbol of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as well as of ancient Egypt. It has also been the subject of an intense argument between Egypt and Germany over the Egyptian demands for its repatriation. It was dragged into controversies over the Body of Nerfertiti art exhibition and also by allegations regarding its authenticity
Authenticity in art
Authenticity in art has a variety of meanings related to different ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic.Denis Dutton distinguishes between nominal authenticity and expressive authenticity....
.
Background
Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife or Chief King's Wife is the term used to refer to the chief wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. While most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife...
(chief consort) of the Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
Akhenaten
Akhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
. Akhenaten initiated a new monotheistic form of worship called Atenism
Atenism
Atenism, or the Amarna heresy, refers to the religious changes associated with the eighteenth dynasty Pharaoh Amenophis IV, better known under his adopted name, Akhenaten...
dedicated to the Sun disc Aten
Aten
Aten is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology, and originally an aspect of Ra. The deified Aten is the focus of the monolatristic, henotheistic, or monotheistic religion of Atenism established by Amenhotep IV, who later took the name Akhenaten in worship in recognition of Aten...
. Little is known about Nefertiti. Theories suggest she could have been an Egyptian royal by birth, a foreign princess or the daughter of a high government official named Ay
Ay
Ay was the penultimate Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. He held the throne of Egypt for a brief four-year period , although he was a close advisor to two and perhaps three of the pharaohs who ruled before him and was the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun's reign...
, who became pharaoh after Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
. She may have been the co-regent of Egypt with Akhenaten, who ruled from 1352 BC to 1336 BC. Nefertiti bore six daughters to Akhenaten, one of whom, Ankhesenpaaten
Ankhesenamun
Ankhesenamun was a queen of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. Born as Ankhesenpaaten, she was the third of six known daughters of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti, and became the Great Royal Wife of her cousin Tutankhamun. The change in her name reflects the changes...
(later known as Ankhesenamun), married Tutankhamun, Nefertiti's stepson. Nefertiti disappears from history in the twelfth year of Akhenaten's reign, though whether this is due to her death or because she took a new name is not known. She may also have later become a pharaoh in her own right, ruling alone for a short time after her husband's death.
The bust of Nefertiti is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose
Thutmose (sculptor)
"The King's Favourite and Master of Works, the Sculptor Thutmose" , flourished 1350 BC, is thought to have been the official court sculptor of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten in the latter part of his reign...
. The bust does not have any inscriptions, but was identified as Nefertiti as it wears the characteristic crown that Nefertiti was known to wear.
Discovery
The Nefertiti bust was found on the 6th December, 1912 at AmarnaAmarna
Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...
by the German Oriental Company
Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft
The Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft is a Eingetragener Verein - a registered voluntary association - based at Berlin in Germany....
(Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft – DOG), led by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt
Ludwig Borchardt
Ludwig Borchardt was a German Egyptologist who was born in Berlin.-Life:Borchardt initially studied Architecture and later Egyptology under Adolf Erman. In 1895 he journeyed to Cairo and produced, with Gaston Maspero, the Catalogue of the Egyptian Museum...
. It was found in what had been the sculptor Thutmose's workshop, along with other unfinished busts of Nefertiti. Borchardt's diary provides the main written account of the find; he remarks, "Suddenly we had in our hands the most alive Egyptian artwork. You cannot describe it with words. You must see it."
A 1924 document found in the archives of the German Oriental Company recalls the 20 January 1913 meeting between Ludwig Borchardt and a senior Egyptian official to discuss the division of the archeological finds of 1912 between Germany and Egypt. According to the secretary of the German Oriental Company (who was the author of the document and who was present at the meeting), Borchardt "wanted to save the bust for us". Borchardt is suspected to have concealed the bust's real value, although he denied doing so.
While Philipp Vandenberg describes the coup as "adventurous and beyond comparison", Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine lists it among the "Top 10 Plundered Artifacts". Borchardt showed the Egyptian official a photograph of the bust "that didn't show Nefertiti in her best light". The bust was wrapped up in a box when Egypt's chief antiques inspector Gustave Lefebvre
Gustave Lefebvre
Gustave Lefebvre was a French Egyptologist....
came for inspection. The document reveals that Borchardt claimed the bust was made of gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
to mislead the inspector. The German Oriental Company blames the negligence of the inspector and points out that the bust was at the top of the exchange list and says the deal was done fairly.
Locations in Germany
The Nefertiti bust has been in Germany since 1913, when it was shipped to Berlin and presented to James SimonHenri James Simon
James Simon was a German entrepreneur, philanthropist and patron of the arts during the Wilhelmine period...
, a wholesale merchant and the sponsor of the Amarna excavation. It was displayed at Simon's residence until 1913, when Simon loaned the bust and other artifacts from the Amarna dig to the Berlin Museum. Although the rest of the Amarna collection was displayed in 1913–14, Nefertiti was kept secret at the request of Borchardt. In 1918, the Museum discussed the public display of the bust, but again kept it secret on the request of Borchardt. It was permanently donated to the Berlin Museum in 1920. Finally, in 1923, the bust was first unveiled to the public in Borchart's writing and later in 1924, displayed to the public as part of the Egyptian Museum of Berlin
Egyptian Museum of Berlin
The Egyptian Museum of Berlin is home to one of the world's most important collections of Ancient Egyptian artifacts.The collection is part of the Neues Museum.-History:...
. The Nefertiti bust was displayed in Berlin’s Neues Museum
Neues Museum
The ' is a museum in Berlin, Germany, located to the north of the Altes Museum on Museum Island.It was built between 1843 and 1855 according to plans by Friedrich August Stüler, a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The museum was closed at the beginning of World War II in 1939, and was heavily...
on Museum Island
Museum Island
Museum Island is the name of the northern half of an island in the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, the site of the old city of Cölln...
until the museum was closed in 1939; with the onset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Berlin museums were emptied and the artifacts moved to secure shelters for safekeeping. Nefertiti was initially stored in the cellar of the Prussian Governmental Bank and then, in the autumn of 1941, moved to the tower of a flak bunker
Flak tower
Flak towers were 8 complexes of large, above-ground, anti-aircraft gun blockhouse towers constructed in the cities of Berlin , Hamburg , and Vienna from 1940 onwards....
in Berlin. The Neues Museum suffered bombings in 1943 by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. On 6 March 1945, the bust was moved to a German salt mine at Merkers-Kieselbach
Merkers-Kieselbach
Merkers-Kieselbach is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany.-Salt mine:The Merkers area of the municipality is famous for its salt mine, in which large amounts of Nazi gold, and many stolen works of art were discovered by the United States Army in 1945. General Dwight D...
in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
.
In March 1945, the bust was found by the American Army and given over to its Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives branch. It was moved to the Reichsbank
Reichsbank
The Reichsbank was the central bank of Germany from 1876 until 1945. It was founded on 1 January 1876 . The Reichsbank was a privately owned central bank of Prussia, under close control by the Reich government. Its first president was Hermann von Dechend...
in Frankfurt and then, in August, shipped to the U.S. Central Collecting Point in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
where it was displayed to the public in 1946. In 1956, the bust was returned to West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. There it was displayed at the Dahlem Museum. As early as 1946, East Germany (German Democratic Republic) insisted on the return of Nefertiti to Museum Island in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
, where the bust had been displayed before the war. In 1967, Nefertiti was moved in the Egyptian Museum in Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte...
and remained there until 2005, when it was moved to the Altes Museum
Altes Museum
The Altes Museum , is one of several internationally renowned museums on Museum Island in Berlin, Germany. Since restoration work in 1966, it houses the Antikensammlung of the Berlin State Museums...
. The bust returned to the Neues Museum as its centerpiece when the museum reopened in October 2009.
Requests for repatriation to Egypt
Ever since the official unveiling of the bust in Berlin in 1924, the Egyptian authorities have been demanding its return to Egypt. In 1925, Egypt threatened to ban German excavations in Egypt unless Nefertiti was returned. In 1929, Egypt offered to exchange other artifacts for Nefertiti, but Germany declined. In the 1950s, Egypt again tried to initiate negotiations but there was no response from Germany. Although Germany had previously strongly opposed the repatriation, in 1933 Hermann GöringHermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
minister, considered returning the bust to King Farouk Fouad
Farouk of Egypt
Farouk I of Egypt , was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936....
of Egypt as a political gesture. Hitler opposed the idea, and told the Egyptian government that he would build a new Egyptian museum for Nefertiti: "In the middle, this wonder, Nefertiti, will be enthroned, ... I will never relinquish the head of the Queen." While the bust was under American control, Egypt requested the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to hand it over; the USA refused and advised Egypt to take up the matter with the new German authorities. In 1989, the Egyptian President Mohamed Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
viewed the bust and announced that Nefertiti was "the best ambassador for Egypt" in Berlin.
Dr. Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley....
, the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities
Supreme Council of Antiquities
The Supreme Council of Antiquities is the branch of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt...
, believes that Nefertiti belongs to Egypt and that the bust was taken out of Egypt illegally and should therefore be returned. Dr. Hawass has maintained the stance that Egyptian authorities were misled over the acquisition of Nefertiti in 1913. He has demanded that Germany prove that it was exported legally. According to Kurt G. Siehr, another argument in support of repatriation is that "Archeological finds have their 'home' in the country of origin and should be preserved in that country." The Nefertiti repatriation issue sprang up again in 2003 over the Body of Nefertiti sculpture (See Controversy). In 2005, Hawass requested UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
to intervene to return the bust.
In 2007, Hawass threatened to ban exhibitions of Egyptian artifacts in Germany if Nefertiti was not lent to Egypt, but to no avail. Hawass also requested a worldwide boycott of loans to German museums to initiate what he calls a "scientific war". Hawass wants Germany to at least loan the bust to Egypt in 2012 for the opening of the new Grand Egyptian Museum near the Great Pyramids of Giza. Simultaneously, a campaign called "Nefertiti Travels" was launched by cultural association CulturCooperation, based in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany. They distributed postcards depicting the bust of Nefertiti with the words "Return to Sender" and wrote an open letter to the German Culture Minister, Bernd Neumann
Bernd Neumann
Bernd Neumann is a German politician.- Biography :Neumann was born in Elbing, East Prussia, now Elbląg, Poland. Following the Flight and Expulsion of Germans after World War II he found refuge in Bremen, West Germany. Neumann studied from 1961 to 1966 at the University of Bremen and later he...
, supporting the view that Egypt should be given the bust on loan. In 2009, when Nefertiti moved back to the Neues Museum – her old home, the appropriateness of Berlin as the bust's location was questioned.
Several German art experts have attempted to refute all the claims made by Hawass, pointing to the 1924 document discussing the pact between Borchart and the Egyptian authorities, though, as discussed earlier, Borchart has been accused of foul play in the deal. The German authorities have also argued the bust is too fragile to transport and that the legal arguments for the repatriation were insubstantial. According to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Germany may be concerned that lending the bust to Egypt would mean its permanent departure from Germany.
In December 2009 Friederike Seyfried, the director of Berlin's Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, presented to the Egyptians documents held by the museum regarding the discovery of the bust which include a protocol signed by the German excavator of the bust and the Egyptian Antiquities Service. In the documents, the object was listed as a painted plaster bust of a princess. But in the diary of Ludwig Borchardt he clearly referred to it as the head of Nefertiti. "This proves that Borchardt wrote this description so that his country can get the statue," Hawass commented "These materials confirm Egypt's contention that (he) did act unethically with intent to deceive." However, Hawass said Egypt didn't consider the Nefertiti bust to be a looted antiquity. Still, it is one of a handful of truly singular Egyptian antiquities still in foreign hands."I really want it back," he said. Hawass' statement quoted the director of the museum as saying the authority to approve the return of the bust to Egypt lies with the Prussian Cultural Heritage and the German culture minister.
Description and examinations
The bust of Nefertiti is 47 centimetres (18.5 in) tall and weighs about 20 kilograms (44.1 lb). It is made of a limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
core covered with painted stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
layers. The face is completely symmetrical and almost intact, but the left eye lacks the inlay present in the right. The pupil of the right eye is of inserted quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
with black paint and is fixed with beeswax. The background of the eye-socket is unadorned limestone. Nefertiti wears her characteristic blue crown known as "Nefertiti cap crown" with a golden diadem band, that is looped around like horizontal ribbons and joining at the back, and an Uraeus
Uraeus
The Uraeus is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian spitting cobra , used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity, and divine authority in ancient Egypt.The Uraeus is a symbol for the goddess Wadjet, who was one of the earliest Egyptian deities and who...
(cobra) over her brow – which is now broken. She also wears a broad collar with a floral pattern on it. The ears also have suffered some damage. Gardner's Art Through the Ages
Gardner's Art Through the Ages
Gardner's Art Through the Ages is an American textbook on art history, with the 2004 edition by Fred S. Kleiner and Christin J. Mamiya. The 2001 edition was awarded both a McGuffey award for longevity and the "Texty" Award for current editions by the Text and Academic Authors Association...
suggests that "With this elegant bust, Thutmose may have been alluding to a heavy flower on its slender sleek stalk by exaggerating the weight of the crowned head and the length of the almost serpentine neck."
According to David Silverman, the Nefertiti bust reflects the classical Egyptian art
Art of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptian art is the painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts produced by the civilization in the lower Nile Valley from 5000 BC to 300 AD. Ancient Egyptian art reached a high level in painting and sculpture, and was both highly stylized and symbolic...
style, deviating from the "eccentricities" of the Amarna art
Amarna art
The Ancient Egyptian art style known as Amarna Art was a style of art that was adopted in the Amarna Period , and is noticeably different from more conventional Egyptian art styles.It is characterized by a sense of movement and activity in images, with figures having raised heads, many figures...
style, which was developed in Akhenaten's reign. The exact function of the bust is unknown, though it is theorized that the bust may be a sculptor's model.
Colors
Ludwig Borchardt commissioned a chemical analysis of the colored pigments of the head. The result of the examination was published in the book Portrait of Queen Nofretete in 1923:- Blue: powdered fritFritFrit is a ceramic composition that has been fused in a special fusing oven, quenched to form a glass, and granulated. Frits form an important part of the batches used in compounding enamels and ceramic glazes; the purpose of this pre-fusion is to render any soluble and/or toxic components insoluble...
, colored with copper oxideCopper(II) oxideCopper oxide or cupric oxide is the higher oxide of copper. As a mineral, it is known as tenorite.-Chemistry:It is a black solid with an ionic structure which melts above 1200 °C with some loss of oxygen... - Skin color (light red): fine powdered lime spar colored with red chalk (iron oxideIron oxideIron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. All together, there are sixteen known iron oxides and oxyhydroxides.Iron oxides and oxide-hydroxides are widespread in nature, play an important role in many geological and biological processes, and are widely utilized by humans, e.g.,...
) - Yellow: orpimentOrpimentOrpiment, As2S3, is a common monoclinic arsenic sulfide mineral. It has a Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2 and a specific gravity of 3.46. It melts at 300 °C to 325 °C...
(arsenic sulphideArsenic trisulfideArsenic trisulfide is the inorganic compound with the formula As2S3. This bright yellow solid is a well known mineral orpiment , has been used as a pigment, and has played a role in the analysis of arsenic compounds. This chalcogenide material is a group V/VI, intrinsic p-type semiconductor and...
) - Green: powdered frit, colored with copperCopperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and iron oxide - Black: coalCoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
with wax as a binding medium - White: chalkChalkChalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
(calcium carbonateCalcium carbonateCalcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...
)
Missing left eye
When the bust was first discovered, Borchardt assumed that the quartz iris of the left eye had fallen out when the sculptor Thutmose's workshop fell into ruin, but an intensive search failed to locate it in the debris of the building. The missing eye led to speculation that Nefertiti may have suffered from an ophthalmic infection, and actually lost her left eye, though the presence of an iris in other statues contradicted this possibility.Dietrich Wildung proposed that the bust in Berlin was a model for official portraits and was used by the master sculptor for teaching his pupils how to carve the internal structure of the eye, and thus the left iris was not added. Gardner's Art Through the Ages and Silverman presents a similar view that the bust was deliberately kept unfinished. Hawass suggested that Thutmose had created the left eye, but it was later destroyed.
CT scans
The bust was first CT scanned in 1992, with the scan producing cross sections of the bust every 5 millimetre (0.196850393700787 in). In 2006, Dietrich Wildung, the director of Berlin's Egyptian Museum, while trying a different lighting at Altes MuseumAltes Museum
The Altes Museum , is one of several internationally renowned museums on Museum Island in Berlin, Germany. Since restoration work in 1966, it houses the Antikensammlung of the Berlin State Museums...
– where the bust was then displayed – observed wrinkles on Nefertiti's neck and bags under her eyes, suggesting the sculptor had tried to depict signs of aging. A CT scan confirmed Wildung's findings; Thutmose had added gypsum under the cheeks and eyes in an attempt to perfect his sculpture, Wildung explained.
The CT scan in 2006 – led by Alexander Huppertz, the director of the Imaging Science Institute in Berlin, revealed a wrinkled face of Nefertiti carved in the inner core of the bust. The results were published in the April 2009 Radiology
Radiology (journal)
Radiology is a monthly, peer reviewed, medical journal, owned and published by the Radiological Society of North America. The editor is Herbert Y. Kressel...
journal. The scan revealed that Thutmose has placed layers of varying thickness on top of the limestone core. The inner face has creases around her mouth and cheeks and a swelling on the nose. The creases and the bump on the nose are leveled by the outermost stucco layer. According to Huppertz, this may reflect "aesthetic ideals of the era". The 2006 scan provided greater detail than the 1992 one – revealing subtle details just 1–2 mm under the stucco.
The Body of Nefertiti
In 2003, the Egyptian Museum in Berlin allowed the Hungarian artist duo Little WarsawLittle Warsaw
Little Warsaw is the collective name for artists Andras Galik and Balint Havas . They were both born and grew up in Budapest through the 70's and 80's...
, Andras Galik and Balint Havas, to place the bust atop a nearly nude female bronze for a video installation to be shown at the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
modern art festival. The project called the Body of Nefertiti was an attempt – according to the artists – to pay homage to the bust. According to Wildung, it showed "the continued relevance of the ancient world to today's art." However, Egyptian cultural officials took offense and proclaimed it to be a disgrace to "one of the great symbols of their country's history". As a consequence, they also banned Wildung and his wife from further exploration in Egypt. The Egyptian Minister for Culture, Farouk Hosny
Farouk Hosny
Farouk Hosny , is an Egyptian abstract painter who was Minister of Culture from 1987 to 2011.-Early life and career:...
, declared that Nefertiti was "not in safe hands", and though Egypt had not renewed their claims for restitution "due to the good relations with Germany", this "recent behaviour" was unacceptable.
Allegations over authenticity
The French book, Le Buste de Nefertiti – une Imposture de l'Egyptologie? (The Bust of Nefertiti – a Fraud in Egyptology?) by Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin and the book Missing Link in Archaeology by Berlin author and historian Edrogan Ercivan both claimed that the Nefertiti bust was a modern fake. Stierlin claims that Borchardt may have created the bust to test ancient pigments and that when the bust was admired by the PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n prince, Johann Georg
Prince Johann Georg of Saxony
Prince Johann Georg Pius Karl Leopold Maria Januarius Anacletus of Saxony, Duke of Saxony was the sixth child and second-eldest son of George...
, Borchardt pretended it was genuine to avoid offending the prince. Stierlin argues that the missing left eye of the bust would have been a sign of disrespect in ancient Egypt, that no scientific records of the bust appear until 11 years after its supposed discovery, and while the paint pigments are ancient, the inner limestone core has never been dated. Ercivan suggests Borchardt's wife was the model for the bust, and both authors argue that it was not revealed to the public until 1924 because it was a fake. Another theory suggested that the existing Nefertiti bust was crafted in 1930s on Hitler's orders and the original was lost in World War II.
Dietrich Wildung dismissed the claims as a publicity stunt, as radiological tests, detailed computer tomography and material analysis have proved its authenticity. The pigments used on the bust have been matched to those used by ancient Egyptian artisans. The 2006 CT scan that discovered the "hidden face" of Nefertiti proved without doubt – according to Science News
Science News
Science News is an American bi-weekly magazine devoted to short articles about new scientific and technical developments, typically gleaned from recent scientific and technical journals. Science News has been published since 1922 by Society for Science & the Public, a non-profit organization...
– that the bust was genuine.
Egyptian authorities also dismissed Stierlin's theory. Dr. Zahi Hawass said "Stierlin is not a historian. He is delirious." Although Stierlin had argued "Egyptians cut shoulders horizontally" – Nefertiti had vertical shoulders, Hawass said that the new style seen in the Nefertiti bust is part of changes introduced by Akhenaten, the husband of Nefertiti. Hawass also claimed that the sculptor Thutmose had created the eye, but it was later destroyed.
Cultural significance
The bust of Nefertiti has become "one of the most admired, and most copied, images from ancient Egypt", and the star exhibit used to market Berlin's museums. It is seen as an "icon of international beauty". "Showing a woman with a long neck, elegantly arched brows, high cheekbones, a slender nose and an enigmatic smile played about red lips, the bust has established Nefertiti as one of the most beautiful faces of antiquity." It is described as the most famous bust of ancient art, comparable only to the mask of TutankhamunTutankhamun
Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
.
Nefertiti has become an icon of Berlin's culture. Some 500,000 visitors see Nefertiti every year. The bust is described as "the best-known work of art from ancient Egypt, arguably from all antiquity". Her face is on postcards of Berlin and 1989 German postage stamps.
In 1930, the German press described the Nefertiti bust as their new monarch, personifying it as a queen. As the "'most precious ... stone in the setting of the diadem
Diadem (personal wear)
A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by Eastern monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. The word derives from the Greek "διάδημα" , "band" or "fillet", from "διαδέω" , "I bind round", or "I fasten"....
' from the art treasures of 'Prussia Germany'", Nefertiti would re-establish the imperial German national identity after 1918. Hitler described the bust as "a unique masterpiece, an ornament, a true treasure", and pledged to build a museum to house it. By the 1970s, the bust had become an issue of national identity to both the German states – East Germany and West Germany - which were created after World War II. In 1999, Nefertiti appeared on an election poster for the green political party Bündis 90/Die Grünen
Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
as a promise for cosmopolitan and multi-cultural environment with the slogan "Strong Women for Berlin!" According to Claudia Breger, another reason that the Nefertiti bust became associated with a German national identity was its place as a rival to the Tutankhamun find by the British, who then ruled Egypt.
The bust became an influence on popular culture with Jack Pierce's make-up work on Elsa Lanchester
Elsa Lanchester
Elsa Sullivan Lanchester was an English-American character actress with a long career in theatre, film and television....
's iconic hair style in the film Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to Frankenstein...
being inspired by it. In the Italian film Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile
Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile
Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile is a 1961 Italian Sword-and-sandal historical drama written and directed by Fernando Cherchio and produced for MAX Film by Ottavio Poggi. The film stars Jeanne Crain, Edmund Purdom, and Vincent Price...
(1961) Nefertiti is in love with the young sculptor Tumos (Thutmose), played by Edmund Purdom
Edmund Purdom
Edmund Anthony Cutlar Purdom was a British actor.-Early life:Purdom was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England and educated at St. Augustine's Abbey School, Ramsgate, then by the Jesuits at St. Ignatius Grammar School and Welwyn Garden City Grammar School...
, who is a friend of prince Amenophis (Akhenaten). Tumos loses Nefeterti to Akhenaten, but preserves his love for her in the famous sculpture.