The iconic bust of Nefertiti is part of the Egyptian Museum of Berlin collection.
Material
Limestone and stucco
Height
48 centimetres (19 in)
Weight
20 kilograms (44 lb)
Created
1345 BC Thutmose, Ancient Egypt
Discovered
6 December 1912 Amarna, Egypt
Discovered by
German Oriental Society
Present location
Neues Museum Berlin, Germany
Identification
ÄM 21300
3D model (click to interact)
The Nefertiti Bust is a painted stucco-coated limestone bust of Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten.[1] It is on display in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.
The work is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC by Thutmose because it was found in his workshop in Tell-el Amarna, Egypt.[2] It is one of the most-copied works of ancient Egypt. Nefertiti has become one of the most famous women of the ancient world and an icon of feminine beauty.[3]
A German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust in 1912 in Thutmose's workshop.[4] Despite provisions that prohibited any items of great archaeological value from leaving Egypt, Borchardt concealed the nature of the bust by covering it in a layer of clay and smuggled it out of the country in 1913.[5] It has been kept at various locations in Germany since its discovery, including the cellar of a bank, a salt-mine in Merkers-Kieselbach, the Dahlem museum, the Egyptian Museum in Charlottenburg and the Altes Museum.[4] It is displayed at the Neues Museum in Berlin, where it was originally displayed before World War II.[4]
The Nefertiti bust has become not only a defining emblem of ancient Egypt, but also a symbol of the impact that European colonialism has had on Egypt's history and culture. It has been the subject of an argument between Egypt and Germany over Egyptian demands for its repatriation, which began in 1924, once the bust was first displayed to the public, and more generally it fuelled discussions over the role museums play in undoing colonialism.[6] Today, Egypt continues to demand the repatriation of the bust, whereas German officials and the Berlin Museum assert their ownership by citing an official protocol, signed by the German excavators and the French-led Egyptian Antiquities Service of the time.
^"Nefertiti – Ancient History". History.com. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
^e.V., Verein zur Förderung des Ägyptischen Museums und Papyrussammlung Berlin. "Nefertiti: (Society for the Promotion of the Egyptian Museum Berlin)". www.egyptian-museum-berlin.com. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
^Conrad, Sebastian (2024). "The Making of a Global Icon: Nefertiti's Twentieth-Century Career". Global Intellectual History. doi:10.1080/23801883.2024.2303074. ISSN 2380-1883.
^ abcTharoor, Ishaan. "The Bust of Nefertiti: Remembering Ancient Egypt's Famous Queen". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
^"Egypt renews demands to retrieve Nefertiti bust from Germany - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. October 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
^Diamond, Kelly-Anne (6 April 2019). "DO MUSEUMS PLAY A ROLE IN UNDOING COLONIALISM?". Hindsights. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
The NefertitiBust is a painted stucco-coated limestone bust of Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. It is on display in the...
the 20th century, Nefertiti was made famous by the discovery and display of her ancient bust, now in Berlin's Neues Museum. The bust is one of the most...
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the owner of tomb 3), and the sculptor's workshop where the famous NefertitiBust and other works of royal portraiture were found is associated with an...
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was a German Egyptologist. He is best known for finding a famous bust of Nefertiti at Amarna. Born in Berlin in 1863 into a well-established Jewish family...
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limestone bust of Nefertiti, unearthed from its sculptor's workshop near the royal city of Amarna, raised interest in ancient Egypt. The bust, now in Berlin's...
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tower in particular stored the Kaiser Wilhelm coin collection, the Nefertitibust, the disassembled Pergamon Altar from Pergamon, and other major treasures...
familiar Nefertitibust, but is the Khepresh or "blue crown" worn by a king. Aidan Dodson cites this stele to support the idea that Nefertiti may have...
European and American museums, with one potential target being the NefertitiBust in Berlin's Neues Museum; in addition, portions of Parthenon marbles...
Queen Nefertiti reconstruction that looks like a white woman - theGrio". theGrio. 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-26. "A new, anatomically accurate bust depicts...
his way into keeping the bust. Borchardt first showed the Egyptian official a photograph of the bust "that didn't show Nefertiti in her best light". In...
divine essence was transmitted to the royal spouse, as was the case with Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaten. Egyptians preferred to be governed by a woman with...
depicted with realistic looking musculature Gemiem-hat, Middle Kingdom Nefertitibust, from the 18th dynasty, New kingdom Portrait of Meritamun, 19th dynasty...
anthro.26.1.411. ISSN 0084-6570. McDonald, Jordan (2019-02-16). "How Nefertiti Became a Powerful Symbol in Contemporary Art". Artsy. Retrieved 2020-11-14...
sculptor Thutmose, often presumed to be the person who made the famous NefertitiBust. Another of the persons buried here was a certain Kenana. The burial...
Art in Pittsburgh has another version. The famous Ancient Egyptian NefertitiBust in Berlin is thought to be a finished modello, largely in plaster, for...
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