Tag: Ludwig Borchardt

University of Hamburg Fighting to Save Egyptology Department

The University of Hamburg’s Egyptology department is facing a last-chance vote to avoid oblivion. The department, one of Germany’s most prestigious, is facing the axe for economic reasons. But a petition organised by protesters outside the city’s Tutankhamun: His Tomb and his Treasures exhibition has gathered over 66,000 signatures, meaning the department’s future is now in the hands of an internal vote.

The department’s closure would be a body blow for Egyptology in Germany, which remains popular thanks to world-renowned museums like the Neues in Berlin, and great artefacts such as the Bust of Nefertiti, the home of which has been debated for decades.

A number of high-profile figures have voiced concern over the imminent closure. Famed photographer Sandro Vannini (click here to see his spectacular work) this Tuesday noted the difference between public interest in Egypt and the funding it is allowed at a conference for his Hamburg-based show A Secret Voyage: Mysterious Egypt. The show accompanies two books, written with Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass: Inside the Egyptian Museumand A Secret Voyage.

Hawass has fiercely criticised Germany’s possession of treasures such as Nefertiti, or the Statue of Hemiunu in Hildesheim’s Pelizaeus Museum. Yet he admits the department’s closure would be a black mark on Egyptology worldwide.

“The officials of the city or university never thought the residents of Hamburg would protest the decision.”

“I was saddened to learn that the University of Hamburg decided to shut down its Egyptology department due to the economic difficulties the city was facing,” Hawass tells Arabic newspaper Asharq Alawsat. “The officials of the city or university never thought that the residents of Hamburg would protest the decision and put together a petition.

“I believe that the Egyptology department, which has become the main topic of discussion at restaurants, cafes and gatherings, will remain open,” adds Hawass (watch his top ten videos here). “This is a testimony to the greatness of the ancient Egyptians who managed to capture the hearts of the German people.”

German experts have long been at the forefront of Egyptology. Ludwig Borchardt was a prolific archaeologist in Egypt, who brought back some of the country’s finest relics including the Nefertiti Bust. Karl Richard Lepsius is probably Germany’s – then Prussia’s – most famous Egyptologist though, having led the way in deciphering hieroglyphs. His greatest achievement was to bring together Egypt’s best known works of papyri, which he then called the ‘Book of the Dead’.

Egypt Showdown with Berlin over Nefertiti Bust – Latest

Yesterday saw Dr Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s Antiquities chief, travel to Berlin to discuss the future of the Bust of Nefertiti with the director of the Neues Museum, her current home (watch a slideshow about the move). Yet statements released by both parties today appear to disagree on what was to be said at the showdown.

The Bust of Nefertiti (or Nofretete in German) has long been in the crosshair of Dr Hawass’ quest to repatriate Egypt’s showcase artefacts. Yet despite her place as one of his ‘famous five’ targets, the Neues Museum insists no formal approach was to be made concerning her future: “Friederike Seyfried, director of the Egyptian Museum Berlin, will travel to Cairo for a first visit to talk with Zahi Hawass about common projects,” its statement reads.

“Borchardt did act unethically, with intent to deceive.” – Zahi Hawass

“There will be no negotiations about the restitution of Nefertiti’s bust,” the statement adds. “Documents about the division of finds of 1912 will be given to the Egyptian side.” This may have been news to Dr Hawass, however, whose blog yesterday listed little more than the arguments for Nefertiti’s return.

He writes that the bust’s discoverer, Ludwig Borchardt, deliberately mis-categorised it so that it could leave Egypt. Borchart is purported to have listed the bust as that of a princess, made in plaster – when in fact it is the limestone bust of Egypt’s most mysterious queen. “These materials confirm Egypts contention that Borchardt did act unethically, with intent to deceive,” Dr Hawass writes.

Dr Seyfried does not have the authority to permit any repatriation, but Dr Hawass is set to call a meeting of the National Committee for the Return of Stolen Artefacts later this week, when he will make a formal request for the bust’s return. Museum officials have remained coy on the artefact, insisting they would look at loan options only if no risk of damage was involved.

The Bust of Nefertiti is one of Ancient Egypt’s most enigmatic treasures. Some scholars believe her to be a fake, while others argue the famous bust is the real deal and has another, different face buried beneath her polychromed plaster facade. Dr Hawass has recently called for the return of the Rosetta Stone during a trip to London, and has repeatedly argued that the Dendera Zodiac should fly back to Egypt from Paris’ Louvre.

Why I Don’t Believe the Bust of Nefertiti is Fake

Following all the doubt and controversy surrounding claims that the Bust of Nefertiti is a fake, I would like to present my case and say why I believe the bust, now housed in the Neues Museum in Berlin, is an original.

Let’s go back and look at the evidence, starting with a 2008 article in KMT magazine named ‘Why Nefertiti Went to Berlin’ written by Dr Rolf Krauss. The article includes some important transcripts and images. One photo shows Egyptologists looking at the bust of Nefertiti, held by an Egyptian workman, captioned: ‘The first presentation of the bust of Nefertiti following its discovery on December 6, 1912’.

On the next page it is stated that:

The excavation was paid for by James Simon, treasurer of the German Oriental Society, (DOG) with his own money. (…) He first loaned and then donated all of these objects to the Berlin Egyptian Museum in 1920;

El Amarna was under the authority of the Antiquities Inspectorate in Asyut, and the inspector there was Gustave Lefebvre (…) it thus fell to Lefebvre to divide the El Amarna finds.

The article goes on to quote from a letter from Bruno Gueterbock (secretary of DOG) to Guenther Roeder, (director Roemer-Pelizaeus Museum):

You can imagine that we all had very little hope that this wonderful piece would not go to Cairo, so little,that on the evening before Lefebvre’s arrival all the inhabitants of the excavation house walked in solemn procession, candle in hand, to the storeroom to bid our farewell to the colourful Queen.

Importantly, the article goes on to mention that when questioned a decade later, Lefebvre said he could not remember whether he had seen the bust or not. Stranger and stranger.

Why Does This Suggest That the Bust Isn’t Fake?

The bust was found in 1912 by Ludwig Borchardt and the occasion photographed
It did not look exactly like it does now at the Neues Museum, as it was still unclean
Lefebvre had to send the piece somewhere, and the piece did not stay in Cairo.

In May this year, Dietrich Wildung, curator of the Berlin’s Egyptian Museum, responded to accusations that the Bust of Nefertiti is a fake in Der Spiegel, saying: “We would not put an even remotely questionable object on display for 700,000 visitors to see every year.

Also, if the Nefertiti bust was a fake I am sure Dr. Hawass would not want it back in Egypt so much…

The Proof is in the CT Scan

Trying to scientifically prove if this piece is a fake we might take into consideration a CT scan carried out this year by researchers in Germany using a modern medical procedure to uncover the two faces of Nefertiti.

“…on the evening before Lefebvre’s arrival all the inhabitants of the excavation house walked in solemn procession, candle in hand, to the storeroom to bid our farewell to the colourful Queen.”

The hidden face differs slightly from the model we see, with creases at the corners of the mouth, and a bump on the nose of the inner stone version(meaning that Nefertiti lookalike Nileen Namita got it wrong).

Dr. Alexander Huppertz suggested that someone expressly ordered that these adjustments be made between the stone and the stucco versions in an article published in the April issue of Radiology. Pictures form the scanned images explain how afirst CT investigation was done in 1992, which was followedby a second in 2006, both intending to clarify the technology of fabrication. Siemens, together with Professor Dietrich Wildung, and the National Geographic Channel have scanned the bust for an investigation conducted for a National Geographic documentary.

The results, provided by the Siemens computer tomography (CT) system SOMATOM Sensation 64, display a different picture of the former Egyptian queen, in which she has a very different nose. In the National Geographic article Huppertz states:

CT [scans] impressively demonstrated that the inner core was not just an anonymous mold, but rather a skillfully rendered work of quality art… In the final stucco layer, Thutmose (the sculptor) smoothed over the creases and nose bump, possibly to reflect the “aesthetic ideals of the era.”

Going back to my ‘case’, if the sculptor did a bust almost identical to the real person in the core and then covered it with layers to adjust reality to art, and this is shown by the recent scans, we have to conclude that he has a real model, thus, the piece is an original.

Take Talatat!

Another scientific study compared the pigments present in the bust to those of contemporary architecture blocks – called talatats (such as the bricks found in the dismantled temple erected by Akhenaton in Karnak). The pigments were found to be identical, adding further proof to my case that the bust must have been made in the Amarna period of Egypt.

It is too fragile to travel, and maybe that is the main reason why it is not being loaned to Egypt as requested by Dr Zahi Hawass. But it is also a key treasure for the Neues Museum in Berlin, and one that they would be reluctant to lose. As science developments are swift nowadays, we can hope for more tests to be done that will prove that this is a real object from ancient Egypt.

“We acquired a lot of information on how the bust was manufactured more than 3,300 years ago by the royal sculptor,” said Huppertz, after the recent scanning. If a scientist is convinced the bust is real, I am too.

10 Reasons Why the Bust of Nefertiti Should Stay in the Neues Museum

At the opening of the new Neues Museum in Berlin this week, it seems that one question is on everybody’s mind – will Germany return the bust of Nefertiti to Egypt? Dr Hawass of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities may be feeling a little more confident after obtaining an agreement from the Musee du Louvre for the return of the fragments from Tetiki’s tomb recently.

There’s not much chance that Egypt would have received that reassuring phone call from President Sarkozy had the Louvre’s access to excavations at Saqqara not been threatened. These tough tactics have worked in this case.

But have they set a precedent for future discussions on other controversial artefacts housed in western European museums? Are institutions such as the British Museum going to consider returning the Rosetta Stone or the Elgin Marbles unless they stand to lose out themselves?

The Bust of Nefertiti is on display in Berlin and has been more or less ever since it was discovered in Egypt in 1913. In August this year, Dr Hawass began to stoke the fire around the discussion of this artefact’s repatriation, by saying that he would reveal some incontrovertible arguments about the legal ownership of the bust. This information was to be written in a letter to the Neues Museum – opened this week – which now houses the bust.

So the argument is now heating up nicely but what are the chances that the German museum’s curators will agree to Hawass’s demand? There are strong arguments on either side but here are some of the most often heard reasons why the German authorities should not give Nefertiti back.

1. Nefertiti cannot be moved! Well, only a little bit.

The number one reason is that the bust, made of a core of sculpted limestone and then finished with a layer of render that gives her that super-smooth look, is actually too fragile to go anywhere. The curator of the Altes Museum, Dietrich Wildung, has been quoted as saying: “It is an enormous risk to let her travel.” The museum is backed up by German Culture Minister Bernd Neumann, who has been quoted as saying: “We could never be certain that she would arrive in good health. They claim that the limestone bust with its plaster layers is very delicate and could be damaged by vibrations or changes in temperature. This argument has been slightly disproved by the fact that Nefertiti has been moved from the Altes Museum to the newly-refurbished Neues Museum. Admittedly the two museums are very close but the fact that she was moved would suggest that due care could also be taken to move her all the way to Cairo.

2. The bust belongs to us! Or does it?

The German authorities claim that they legally own the Bust of Nefertiti. However, the story of how it got to Germany doesn’t really point to an honest transaction. The German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt found the bust during excavations at El Armana between 1911-14. Apparently he then doctored a photo of the bust to make it appear in far worse condition that it actually was and also claimed it was made of plaster rather than plaster-rendered limestone. Whether Borchardt practised some deception, or whether the authorities at the time Egypt was occupied by Britain – were lax in allowing the bust to leave the country remains unclear. There is no doubt in Dr Hawass’s mind though he refers to the bust on his website as one of the world’s illegally taken treasures. The legal ownership of the statue is something that will have to be thrashed out between Dr Hawass and the curators of the Neues Museum very soon. But who was it that that possession is nine-tenths of the law?

3. The queen is a fake!

This argument seemed to distract the main debate for a while. The Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin claimed this year that the famous bust on display in Berlin is actually a copy made for Ludwig Borchardt almost 100 years ago. His theory hasn’t gained much credibility among the world of canny Egyptologists. As Keith Payne points out in his blogpost on the subject, the authenticity of the bust is about the only thing that the Egyptian and German authorities can agree upon.

4. Will she be in safe hands?

Dr Hawass would like to see it housed in the new Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza, which is due to open in 2013. If there is any truth in the argument that an Egyptian museum might not have the resources to house such a valuable artefact, I imagine this will have to be revisited once the museum is actually open. Meanwhile, the German authorities have the strong argument that their museums on Berlin’s Museum Island are some of the most modern and fully-resourced places for ancient artefacts in the world.

5. Egypt is full of antiquities surely?

I imagine that certain parts of Egypt are a bit like Rome: there is such a wealth of ancient structures and artefacts that the authorities are very hard pushed to find the money and the space to do them all justice. Many of Rome’s museums show only the very best of their collection, while many objects, which could be of interest to foreign museums, are left in storage. The same may well be true of the museums in Cairo. In the case of Nefertiti, the bust is a huge crowd-puller for Berlin’s Neues Museum (and the Altes Museum before that). She draws up to half a million visitors a year. Would the unique beauty of the bust be lost among the many remarkable Egyptian objects that are on display in Cairo?

6. Museums educate the general public

Not everyone can afford to visit ancient sites such as the pyramids of Giza or the site of El Amarna. By displaying objects from Egypt in many different museums around the world, you are providing access for millions of people to fascinating artefacts from far-flung cultures. The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum or a bust of a Roman emperor at St Petersburg’s Hermitage could inspire someone who might have no other possibility of learning about Egyptology or ancient Rome.

7. Hedge your bets

Many people also argue that it is better to disburse artefacts around the world so that if there were to be some kind of disaster or war, for example in Egypt, then all the Egyptian artefacts would not be damaged or destroyed all in one go. This is the basic ‘don’t keep all your eggs in one basket’ idea and coupled with the benefits of education and bringing objects to a wider audience, I think it’s a convincing argument although it’s also a logic that would argue against keeping an excessive number of precious objects in super-museums such as the British Museum, the Louvre and the Hermitage.

8. Talking about fakes…

While we’re on the subject of fakes, one very reasonable solution to all this repatriation palaver could be to make very convincing copies of the controversial objects in question. This is the temporary solution that allows the full Elgin Marbles frieze to be displayed at the New Acropolis Museum. Of course many would then argue that the Neues Museum can keep its fake bust, but send the real thing to Giza.

9. Money talks

Whether the bust of Nefertiti should ethically or legally be taken back to Egypt is an argument that may go on for quite a while longer. But I don’t think I’m being too cynical in saying that, in the world of modern archaeology, museum curatorship and research, money and numbers come top of most agendas. The Altes Museum was pulling in 500,000 visitors each year with Nefertiti as their most important exhibit. If the Neues Museum lost her, how many visitors would they lose and what would be the financial impact? It could also be argued that the bust on display in Berlin is a very good advert for Egyptian tourism could they also lose out financially?

10. The power of Nefertiti

Hitler once said: I will never relinquish the head of the queen. Apparently the Fuhrer was very much attached to Nefertiti and had plans to build a spectacular Egyptian museum in Berlin, in which she would be the star attraction. The dictator’s only relevance to the modern question of where Nefertiti should reside, is that his attachment typifies the power that the 3,300-year old statue has always had on those who ‘own’ her. It seems that in this tug-of-war over the queen’s head, someone is bound to get hurt. Dr Hawass is pretty confident it’s not going to be him. But I’m not so sure.

The Bust of Nefertiti – A Century-Old Archaeological Detective Story Nearing an End?

In his August 7th, 2009, interview with Heritage Key, Zahi Hawass revealed that the Supreme Council of Antiquities was gathering evidence regarding the illegal appropriation of the bust of Nefertiti by the Altes Museum in Berlin. I will reveal [the evidence] in October when I write the letter to the Berlin Museum for the return of the piece, because it left Egypt illegally, Dr. Hawass stated.

In a new article published in Al-Ahram Weekly (Queen of Egypts heart), Dr. Hawass reveals that his wish is for the bust to be placed in the Museum of National Heritage at Giza in time for its official opening. He may be in for a fight, but thats nothing new for Dr. Hawass, who has returned more than 6,000 artifacts to Egypt in the last seven years.

Discovered, Dislocated, and Defamed

The bust was discovered in 1913 by a German team working under Ludwig Borchardt while excavating the studio of Thutmose, Akhenatens royal Master of Works. At the time Egypt was under French control, and excavation regulations stated only that unique discoveries would become part of the Egyptian national collection and that half of what remained was to go to the excavator. According to the regulations, Borchardt had to publish the results of his excavations within two years, which he didto the exclusion of the Bust of Nefertiti.

I will reveal [the evidence] in October when I write the letter to the Berlin Museum for the return of the piece, because it left Egypt illegally.

The rest of the world would have to wait a decade to view the elegant sculpture of the queen. In 1923 Nefertiti went on display in Germany, and she has been hounded by controversy ever since. The initial complaints were fairly obvious: the bust was clearly a unique artifact, and its conspicuous absence from Borchardts summary of discoveries smacked of subterfuge.

Then, beginning shortly after the 1952 Revolution and culminating with Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin in 2009, questions arose concerning the authenticity of the bust. In interviews following the release of his book, The Bust of Nefertitian Egyptology Fraud, Stierlin claimed It seems increasingly improbable that the bust is an original. However, the authenticity of the bust is perhaps the only thing upon which Dr. Hawass and the Altes Museum agree.

Questions of the queens honor aside, the primary controversy revolves around issues of acquisition and ownership. Germany continues to claim Borchardt brought the artifact to Berlin without deceit, and that the bust of Nefertiti has become a part of German cultural identity, even going so far as to refer to her as the Berlin Bust.

Defender of the Queen

For his part, Zahi Hawass remains unrelenting and continues to gather evidence. One hint of this evidence may have come in February, 2009, when the BBC News reported that Borchardt claimed in his own diary that the bust was indescribable, a word hardly appropriate for a non-unique artifact unworthy of mention in his final report (German guile won Queen Nefertiti). The BBC further revealed that Borchardt misrepresented the bust in such descriptions as he did provide, stating that it was made of gypsum rather than limestone, and produced a photograph that was unflattering by design.

Hopefully we will learn more when Dr. Hawass publicly discloses the content of his letter to the Berlin Museum in October. Dietrich Wildung, curator of the Altes Museum, seems to be preparing his own counter argument, claiming that the bust is now too fragile to move. We could never be certain that she would arrive in good health.

Herr Wildung! How ungallant!

Has Nefertiti Gone Bust?

Shes an enduring symbol of feminine beauty, and one of the most iconic and replicated images of ancient Egypt. But is Queen Nefertitis bust discovered in the ruins of Amarna by Ludwig Borchardt in 1912 actually a fake?

Apparently so, according to leading Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin. He claims that the painted limestone and plaster sculpture is not the original, carved in the workshop of the Egyptian artist Thutmose 3,400 years ago, but actually a copy, created a century back by an artist commissioned by Borchardt.

The historian alleges that when the copy went on display in December 1912, it was much admired as an original work by German prince Johann Georg. Borchardt, who couldnt sum up the courage to ridicule his guests, failed to correct them, and the lie has stood for a 100 years, during which time Nefertiti has been on display in Berlins Altes Museum.

By way of evidence, Stierlin highlights the fact that the bust has no left eye, an insult for an ancient Egyptian who believed the statue was the person, plus the fact that the shoulders are cut vertically while Egyptians usually cut shoulders horizontally. He also points out that Nefertitis facial features are accentuated in a manner resembling an Art Nouveau style.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, the director of Berlins Egyptian Museum Dietrich Wildung dismissed the allegations. A beautiful woman and a putative scandal, he commented. That always sells.

The claims are made in Stierlins new book Le Buste de Nefertiti une Imposture de l’Egyptologie? (The Bust of Nefertiti an Egyptology Fraud?). The bust, which attracts half a million visitors annually, will become a major showpiece at Berlins reborn Neues Museum when it opens in October 2009.

Image of bust of Nefertiti (top) by Carlo Struglia.