The Nefertiti Bust is a painted sculpture made of limestone covered with stucco. It shows Nefertiti, the wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. The bust is currently on display in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.
The sculpture is believed to have been created around 1345 BC by an artist named Thutmose. This belief comes from the fact that the bust was found in Thutmose’s workshop in Tell-el Amarna, Egypt. The bust is one of the most widely copied artworks from ancient Egypt. Nefertiti has become one of the most well-known women from ancient times and is seen as a symbol of beauty.
A German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust in 1912 during an excavation of a sculptor’s workshop. After its discovery, the bust was kept in several places in Germany, including the cellar of a bank, a salt mine in Merkers-Kieselbach, the Dahlem museum, the Egyptian Museum in Charlottenburg, and the Altes Museum. It is now displayed in the Neues Museum in Berlin, where it was first shown before World War II. Egypt has asked for the bust to be returned, claiming that laws at the time prevented valuable artifacts from leaving the country. Egypt also accuses Borchardt of hiding the bust’s value and taking it out of Egypt without permission.
The Nefertiti Bust is not only a symbol of ancient Egypt but also represents the effects of European colonialism on Egypt’s history and culture. The bust has been the center of a debate between Egypt and Germany since 1924, when it was first shown to the public. This debate has also raised questions about the role of museums in addressing the effects of colonialism. Today, Egypt still demands the bust’s return, while German officials and the Berlin Museum claim ownership based on a formal agreement signed by the German excavators and the French-led Egyptian Antiquities Service at the time of the discovery.
History
Nefertiti, which means "the beautiful one has come forth," was the chief wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty during the 14th century BC. Akhenaten introduced a new religious practice called Atenism, which focused on worshiping the Sun disc, Aten. Little is known about Nefertiti. Some theories suggest she may have been born into an Egyptian royal family, a foreign princess, or the daughter of a high-ranking official named Ay, who later became pharaoh after Tutankhamun. She may have helped rule Egypt alongside Akhenaten, who reigned from 1352 BC to 1336 BC. Nefertiti and Akhenaten had six daughters. One daughter, Ankhesenpaaten (later renamed Ankhesenamun), married Tutankhamun, Nefertiti’s stepson. Earlier beliefs suggested Nefertiti disappeared during the twelfth year of Akhenaten’s reign, possibly due to her death or a name change. However, a limestone quarry inscription found at Deir Abu Hinnis, located on the eastern side of the Nile about ten kilometers (six miles) north of Amarna in today’s Al-Minya Governorate, shows she was still alive in the sixteenth year of Akhenaten’s reign. Some evidence suggests she may have briefly ruled Egypt herself after Akhenaten’s death.
The bust of Nefertiti is believed to have been created around 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose. Though the bust has no writing on it, it can be clearly identified as Nefertiti because of the crown she wears, which matches other known depictions, such as those on the "house altar."
The bust was discovered on December 6, 1912, at Amarna by an archaeological team funded by the German Oriental Company (Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft – DOG), a group organized by James Simon, one of Prussia’s wealthiest men. The team was led by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt. The bust was found in the workshop of Thutmose, along with other unfinished sculptures of Nefertiti. Borchardt wrote in his diary that the bust was "the most alive Egyptian artwork" and described it as impossible to fully capture in words.
A 1924 document from the German Oriental Company’s archives mentions a meeting in January 1913 between Borchardt and an Egyptian official to divide the 1912 archaeological finds between Germany and Egypt. The document’s author, who was present at the meeting, noted that Borchardt wanted to keep the bust for Germany.
The German Oriental Society claims the artifacts were divided fairly, stating that Nefertiti’s bust was among the most important items exchanged. However, the bust’s acquisition has been described as "adventurous and beyond comparison" by Philipp Vandenberg and listed as one of the "Top 10 Plundered Artifacts" by Time magazine. Borchardt showed a photograph of the bust to France’s chief antiques inspector, Gustave Lefebvre, but the photo did not show the bust in its best condition. When Lefebvre examined the artifacts, the bust was already wrapped in a box in a dimly lit room. It is unclear whether Lefebvre inspected the bust closely. Borchardt also incorrectly claimed the bust was made of gypsum, not limestone.
Description and examinations
The bust is 48 centimeters (19 inches) tall and weighs about 20 kilograms (44 pounds). It is made of limestone covered with layers of painted plaster. The face is perfectly balanced and mostly complete, but the left eye is missing a piece that the right eye has. The right eye's colored part, called the iris, is made of quartz with black paint and held in place with beeswax. The area behind the eye is plain limestone. Nefertiti wears a blue crown called the "Nefertiti cap crown," which includes a golden band shaped like ribbons and a broken cobra-shaped decoration on her forehead. She also wears a wide collar with a flower pattern. Some damage has occurred to her ears. A book called Gardner's Art Through the Ages suggests that the artist, Thutmose, may have emphasized the weight of Nefertiti's crowned head and the long, snake-like shape of her neck to create a striking image.
According to David Silverman, the bust follows the traditional Egyptian art style, which differs from the unusual style used during the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten. The purpose of the bust is unknown, but some believe it may have been a model used by artists to create other official portraits in their workshops.
In 1923, a chemical analysis of the colored pigments on the bust was published in a book titled Portrait of Queen Nefertiti. When the bust was first found, no quartz was present in the left eye, even after a reward of £1000 was offered for information about its location. The missing piece was likely lost when Thutmose’s workshop was destroyed. Some people thought Nefertiti may have lost her eye due to an illness, but other statues of her show both eyes, which contradicts this idea.
Dietrich Wildung proposed that the bust was a model used by the sculptor to teach others how to carve the inside of an eye, which is why the left eye’s quartz was not added. Gardner's Art Through the Ages and Silverman also suggest the bust was intentionally left unfinished. Zahi Hawass, a former Egyptian official, believed Thutmose created the left eye, but it was later destroyed.
In 1992, the bust was scanned using a CT machine, which created cross sections every 5 millimeters (0.2 inches). In 2006, Dietrich Wildung, director of Berlin’s Egyptian Museum, noticed wrinkles on Nefertiti’s neck and dark circles under her eyes while using special lighting. A CT scan confirmed these details, showing that Thutmose had added gypsum under her cheeks and eyes to improve the sculpture’s appearance.
A 2006 CT scan, led by Alexander Huppertz, revealed that Nefertiti’s face had creases around her mouth and cheeks and a bump on her nose inside the bust’s core. These features were covered by the outer plaster layer. Huppertz suggested this may reflect the beauty standards of the time. The 2006 scan provided more detailed information than the 1992 scan, showing small details just 1–2 millimeters (0.04–0.08 inches) beneath the plaster.
Later history
The bust of Nefertiti is one of the most admired and copied images from ancient Egypt. It is a major exhibit used to promote Berlin's museums and is considered an icon of international beauty. The bust shows a woman with a long neck, elegantly shaped eyebrows, high cheekbones, a slender nose, and a mysterious smile around red lips. This image has made Nefertiti one of the most famous faces from ancient times. The bust is regarded as the most well-known piece of ancient art, second only to the mask of Tutankhamun.
Nefertiti has become a symbol of Berlin's culture. Each year, about 500,000 people visit to see her. The bust is described as the most famous artwork from ancient Egypt, possibly from all of ancient history. Her face appears on postcards of Berlin and on 1989 German postage stamps.
The bust has been in Germany since 1913, when it was sent to Berlin and given to James Simon, a merchant who supported an archaeological dig in Amarna. It was displayed at Simon’s home until 1913, when he lent it to the Berlin Museum. Although other items from the dig were shown in 1913–14, the bust was kept hidden at the request of the archaeologist, Borchardt. In 1918, the museum planned to display the bust but again kept it hidden at Borchardt’s request. The bust was officially donated to the museum in 1920. In 1923, Borchardt wrote about the bust, and in 1924, it was shown to the public as part of the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. The bust became famous worldwide as a symbol of feminine beauty and one of the most recognized artifacts from ancient Egypt. It was displayed in Berlin’s Neues Museum on Museum Island until the museum closed in 1939. During World War II, Berlin’s museums were emptied, and the bust was moved to secure storage. It was first kept in the cellar of the Prussian Governmental Bank, then moved in 1941 to Zoo Tower, an air defense bunker in Berlin. The Neues Museum was damaged by bombing in 1943. On March 6, 1945, the bust was moved to a salt mine in Merkers-Kieselbach, Germany.
In March 1945, American soldiers found the bust and handed it to a group that protects art and monuments. It was sent to the Reichsbank in Frankfurt and then to the U.S. Central Collecting Point in Wiesbaden, where it was displayed publicly starting in 1946. It stayed at the Museum Wiesbaden for ten years before being moved to West Berlin in 1956, where it was shown at the Dahlem Museum. As early as 1946, East Germany asked for the bust to return to Museum Island in East Berlin, where it had been displayed before the war. In 1967, the bust was moved to the Egyptian Museum in the Charlottenburg area of Berlin and stayed there until 2005, when it was transferred to the Altes Museum. The bust returned to the Neues Museum in 2009 as the centerpiece when the museum reopened.
Controversies
Since 1924, when the bust was first shown in Berlin, Egyptian leaders have asked for it to be returned to Egypt. In 1925, Egypt warned Germany that it would stop allowing German archaeologists to work in Egypt unless the bust was sent back. In 1929, Egypt offered to trade other ancient items for the bust, but Germany refused.
Germany had not wanted to return the bust before, but in 1933, Hermann Göring thought about sending it back to King Fuad I of Egypt as a political move. Hitler disagreed and told Egypt that he would build a new museum for Nefertiti in Egypt. He said, "In the middle, this wonder, Nefertiti, will be enthroned. I will never give up the head of the Queen." While the bust was in the United States, Egypt asked the U.S. to return it, but the U.S. refused and told Egypt to talk to new German leaders instead. In the 1950s, Egypt tried to start talks again, but Germany did not respond. In 1989, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak saw the bust and said Nefertiti was "the best ambassador for Egypt" in Berlin.
Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist and former minister for antiquities, believes the bust belongs to Egypt and was taken illegally. He said Egyptian leaders were tricked about how the bust was acquired in 1913 and asked Germany to prove it was sent out legally. Kurt G. Siehr argued that archaeological finds should stay in their country of origin. The issue of returning the bust came up again in 2003 and 2005, when Hawass asked UNESCO to help return it.
In 2007, Hawass threatened to stop German museums from borrowing Egyptian artifacts unless Germany lent the bust to Egypt. This did not work. He also asked for a global boycott of loans to German museums to start what he called a "scientific war." In 2012, Hawass asked Germany to lend the bust to Egypt for the opening of a new museum near the Great Pyramids of Giza. A group called "Nefertiti Travels" in Germany made postcards with the message "Return to Sender" and wrote to a German minister, asking for the bust to be loaned to Egypt. In 2009, when the bust was moved back to its museum in Berlin, some people questioned if Berlin was the best place for it.
Some German experts argued that the bust should stay in Germany because it is too fragile to move and because legal claims for its return were weak. They also pointed to a 1924 document showing an agreement between German and French officials in Egypt. Germany said lending the bust might mean it would never return to Germany.
In 2009, Friederike Seyfried, a museum director in Berlin, gave Egypt documents showing the bust was discovered by a German archaeologist and a French group. The documents called it a painted plaster bust of a princess, but the archaeologist, Borchardt, wrote in his diary that it was Nefertiti’s head. Hawass said this proves Borchardt lied to get the bust for Germany. He also said Egypt does not consider the bust stolen. He added that the decision to return the bust lies with German cultural leaders.
Some books claimed the bust was a fake. Henri Stierlin, a Swiss historian, said Borchardt might have made the bust to test ancient pigments and pretended it was real to avoid offending a prince. He also said the bust’s missing eye and lack of records about its discovery suggest it was not real. Another book by Erdogan Ercivan said Borchardt’s wife was the model for the bust and that it was not revealed to the public until 1924 because it was fake. Some people also thought the bust was made in the 1930s on Hitler’s orders.
Scientists tested the bust and found that the pigments used match those made by ancient Egyptian artists. Tests by Friedrich Rathgen in 1923 and later by Swiss scientists in 1982 confirmed this. The bust also looks similar to other unfinished statues of Nefertiti. A 2006 CT scan found a hidden face inside the bust, proving it was real.
In 2009, Dietrich Wildung, a Berlin museum director, said claims the bust was fake were a publicity stunt. He said tests using CT scans and material analysis showed it was genuine. Egyptian leaders, including Hawass, dismissed the fake claims, saying Stierlin was not a reliable historian. Hawass explained that the bust’s style was part of changes made by Nefertiti’s husband, Akhenaten.
In 2003, artists placed the bust on a bronze statue for an art show in Venice. Egyptian officials called this disrespectful and banned the museum director from working in Egypt. In 2016, Egypt asked for a full-color scan of the bust, but the museum refused, saying it would hurt sales.
Cultural significance
In 1930, German newspapers called the Nefertiti bust their new ruler, comparing it to a queen. They described it as "the most precious … stone in the setting of the diadem" from the art treasures of Prussia, Germany. They believed the bust would help restore Germany's national identity after 1918. Hitler called the bust "a unique masterpiece, an ornament, a true treasure" and promised to build a museum to display it. By the 1970s, the bust became a symbol of national identity for both East Germany and West Germany, the two German states created after World War II. In 1999, the bust appeared on an election poster for the green political party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. The poster promoted a cosmopolitan and multicultural environment with the slogan "Strong Women for Berlin!" Claudia Breger noted another reason the bust became linked to German identity: its status as a rival to Tutankhamun, who was discovered by the British, who then controlled Egypt. The bust also influenced popular culture, as the hairstyle of Elsa Lanchester in the film Bride of Frankenstein was inspired by the work of makeup artist Jack Pierce.