Bust of Nefertiti

Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten, and has been described as 'the world's most beautiful woman', mostly because of her depiction in this famous bust.

One of the greatest and most recognisable pieces of ancient art, the bust is attributed to the royal sculptor Thutmose (entitled "The King's Favourite and Master of Works"), who is thought to have created this opus at Akhenaten's breakaway capital city Amarna during the empire's 18th Dynasty. Created in stone with stucco finish, the bust is thought to have had two faces - one beneath the other - with the visible one being an amendment to the original.

The bust takes pride of place in Berlin at the newly reopened Neues Museum (having been on display at the nearby Altes Museum during the 70 year interim when the Neues Museum was closed). It is the subject of much heated debate between its current owners and Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, who have long campaigned for its return. The bust was discovered in Amarna by influential German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt in 1912, who brought it back to Berlin. He is alleged to have deliberately deceived the Egyptian authorities over the quality and condition of the bust in order to be allowed to remove it from the country.

It has been suggested by some experts that the version of the bust currently on display is in fact a forgery created at the time of discovery, and influenced by the art deco style. The bust is most notable for its precise interpretations of the human face, and it's enduring beauty.

Images

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