Bust of Nefertiti

The bust of Queen Nefertiti housed in Berlin’s Neues Museum is one of Ancient Egypt’s most famous works of art. A prime example of ancient artistry, this icon has been called “the most beautiful woman in the world”.

Hypnotizing audiences since it went on display in 1923, the statue gives insight into the enigmatic queen and continues to generate controversy and debate in art and politics.

Nefertiti’s bust is the sole work of art in the dimly lit room. She stands 48 cm (19 inches) tall and weighs 20 kg (44 lbs). Positioned slightly above eye level, the viewer gazes up at her, contributing to the power and regal feeling of the piece.

The statue is delicate, elegant and very symmetrical with a visual flow guiding you from the top of the crown down to the long neck. The naturalism differs from earlier more formal and rigid Egyptian art.

Suddenly we had in our hands the most alive Egyptian artwork. You cannot describe it with words. You must see it.

Diary of Ludwig Borchardt

The bust, which stands at 48 centimetres (19 in) & weighs 20 kilograms (44 lbs), was discovered on the 6th of December 1912, during an expedition led by Ludwig Borchardt. It was found in remnants the sculptor Thutmose’s workshop in Amarna (ancient city of Akhetaten – Akhenaten‘s ill-fated capital), Egypt.

The sculptor Thutmose held the prestigious title of, “The King’s Favourite and Master of Works, the Sculptor Thutmose“.

The estimated date of the statue’s creation is 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose during the Amarna Period.

There are no inscriptions, but Nefertiti was identified by her trademark blue flat-top crown with the uraeus (rearing cobra), which is missing. The core is limestone covered with plaster, which allowed for the exception molding and detail around the face.

The bust has been examined numerous times over the century or so since it’s discovery, and as technologies have advanced. Early analysis of the paint showcased an interesting glimpse of the development of Egyptian pigments.

And more recent studies, such as C.T. scanning, revealed the bust had a limestone core with fine detailing of the face, such as fine lines, which are not seen with the smooth stucco plastering.

Controversially for some, the bust (ÄM 21300) resides in the Neues Museum, Berlin, Germany; with Zahi Hawass, leading the call for many years, to have the queen returned home to Egypt.

Nefertiti, the beautiful woman has arrived

“… Nefertiti’s image has come to overshadow the woman herself, exacerbated by how little we actually know of her with any degree of certainty.

On the other hand, her current world dominion presents an interesting contrast with the way in which she was actively written out of history soon after her own death.

Dimly and distortedly remembered by only a few later annalists, her very existence was only gradually recognized once again during the nineteenth century AD.

Nefertiti’s progress beyond being simply a name was initially a slow one, and even then, much of what became ‘known’ about her was often guesswork or misguided extrapolation or misinterpretation from the available material.

Significant parts of these early (mis)interpretations have become calcified as ‘factoids’ outside the realm of specialists in the history of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Indeed, the most potentially sensational data that suggested that she had ended life not as a queen, but as a female king, was misread for some eight decades, at the same time creating a wholly illusory sexual narrative for her husband.”

― Nefertiti, Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt: Her Life and Afterlife, by Aiden Dodson (#aff)

When the bust of Nefertiti was discovered, the left eye was missing its quartz iris, unlike the right eye. Despite an intensive search and a significant reward of £1000 offered for information about its whereabouts, the missing piece was never found.

Ludwig Borchardt, the German archaeologist who discovered the bust in 1912, theorized that the quartz iris had likely fallen out when Thutmose’s workshop fell into ruin. The absence of the iris sparked speculation that Nefertiti might have suffered from an ophthalmic condition, potentially losing her left eye. However, this theory was contradicted by other statues of Nefertiti, which depicted her with both eyes intact.

Borchardt also commissioned a chemical analysis of the pigments used on the bust, with the findings published in his 1923 book Portrait of Queen Nofretete. The analysis revealed the following materials:

• Blue: Powdered frit colored with copper oxide
• Skin tone (light red): Fine powdered lime spar colored with red chalk (iron oxide)
• Yellow: Orpiment (arsenic sulfide)
• Green: Powdered frit colored with copper and iron oxide
• Black: Coal mixed with wax as a binding medium
• White: Chalk

The missing eye remains one of the mysteries surrounding this iconic artifact, adding to the intrigue and legacy of Nefertiti’s timeless beauty.