The Bust of a Beautiful Woman
]Intro:
She's been compared to the beauty in the statue of Venus, and the perfection of Galatea in the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea [link to OSP video]; with the "beguiling smiling of Mona Lisa" who holds the mystery of the ages. In this article I will discuss what the bust of Nefertiti is and why it led to her memory, give histories of her life and the bust itself, moving into the controversies that surround it: whether it's real or fake, and repatriating of stolen artifacts. Continuing, I will briefly discuss the change in art style, and the 'whitening' up of her features, if it is a fake, even a 100 year old fake. Lastly I will discuss the art itself: the material (hence the real vs fake arguments) and the color pigments, the headdress, the makeup, and the necklace. Whether the bust in the Berlin Museum is real or something whipped up by European archaeologists to make their finds more substantial (which is a bad thing, to be clear), there is still much we can learn about the history of archaeology from an 100 year old fake and much that we can learn about the art history in both the ancient and more modern contexts.
What's in a Name?:
Growing up, I was often told that the name Nefertiti vs Nefertari were different names for the same queen. This, people, was a lie, for some reason people don't distinguish queens with different names, and yet they remember different of kings with the same name. Without getting too bogged down with the failings of the American education system, these two queens lived at least 50 years apart, and in different dynasties, Nefertiti in the 18th and Nefertari [Beautiful companion] in the 19th, being the first of the Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses the Great (Dodson & Hilton, 2004: 164).
Nefertiti (/ˌnɛfərˈtiːti/[3]) --> Neferneferuaten
Nefer meant beautiful or peaceful, Titi meant walking, and together the name can be translated as "The Beautiful Woman has Come" (Dodson, 2016: 87). While modern Egyptological pronunciation renders her name as Nefertiti, her name was probably pronounced as Nafertyiti at the time (Schenkel, 1983). And along with her name she also had a bunch of titles based on description and labels given on cartouches from the period, which include, but not limited to:
Hereditary Princess (iryt-p`t)
Great of Praises (wrt-Hzwt)
Lady of Grace (nbt-im3t)
Sweet of Love (bnrt-mrwt)
Lady of The Two Lands (nbt-t3wy)
Main King's Wife, his beloved (Hmt-nswt-‘3t mryt.f)
Great King's Wife, his beloved (Hmt-nswt-wrt mryt.f)
Lady of All Women (Hnwt-Hmwt-nbwt)
Mistress of Upper & Lower Egypt (Hnwt-Shm’w-mhw).
- (Grajetzki, 2005).
Neferneferuaten was the name of the first of two pharaohs in the murky timeline between the end of Akhenaten's reign and the reign of King Tut. Although the identity and even the gender of the ruler is unclear as a definite fact, it is most likely, based on the name on the remaining cartouches that it would've been Nefertiti (Krauss, 1978; Allen, 1994; Murnane, 2009; Van der Perre, 2014). There are several different theories and a lot of disagreement into who this person was, but what is salient is that Neferneferuaten's successor seems to have denied her a king's burial, which could also be why archaeologists haven't found Nefertiti's tomb. Later, in the reign of Horemheb, the entire Amarna period began to be regarded as offense to Egypt itself causing the kingly reigns of the Amarna period pharaohs, from Akhenaten to Ay, to be expunged from history and all the kings' total regnal years were assigned to Horemheb. The result is that over 3,300 years later, scholars have to piece together events and even resurrect the players bit by bit with the evidence sometimes limited to palimpsests (Dodson, 2009).
Histories:
- A Brief Summary of her Life History
Estimated to have lived between c. 1370 – c. 1330 BCE, Nefertiti was the last queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for the religious revolution, in which they worshipped one god only, Aten, the sun disc. Beside her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of Ancient Egyptian history (Freed, Markowitz, & D’Auria, 1999). If Nefertiti did rule as pharaoh, her reign was marked, in the end, by the fall of Amarna and the move of the capital back to the city of Thebes.
Her parentage is not known with certainty, but one often cited theory is that she was the daughter of Ay who would later get to be pharaoh (Dodson, 2016: 87). One major problem of this theory is that neither Ay or his wife Tey are actually called "the father and mother of Nefertiti" in existing sources and Tey's only recorded connection with her was that she was the "nurse of the great queen" Nefertiti, which would have been an unlikely title for a queen's mother (van Dijk, 1996). Also, no sources exist that directly contradict Ay's fatherhood, so it is considered likely due to the great influence he wielded during Nefertiti's life and continued to wield after her death (Dodson, 2016: 87) According to another theory, which attempts to explain how Ay could be Nefertiti's father with his wife not being her mother [not like he could've been married before, or just had a child with another woman], Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay and Iuy, but her mother died before her rise to the position of queen, whereupon Ay married Tey, making her Nefertiti's step-mother. This is all entirely based on speculation and conjecture [and not even mine] (Dodson, 2016: 87–88).
Limestone column fragment showing a cartouche of Nefertiti. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. Late 18th dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London. "With thanks to the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL". From: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)
- A Briefer Summary of the Bust's History
The bust found has been theorized to have been actually made as a sculptor's modello, which was for modeling more busts and would be a piece used for study and practice and would be used as a basis for other official portraits, kept in the artist's (Thutmose's) workshop, along with other unfinished busts of Nefertiti (Tharoor, 2012; Yakutchik, 2008). It was reportedly found on the 6th of December, 1912 in Amarna by the German Oriental Company (Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft – DOG), led by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt (Breger, 2006: 285; Siehr, 2006:115).
A 1924 document, found in the archives of the German Oriental Company, mentions a January 20th, 1913 meeting between Borchardt and a senior Egyptian official to discuss the division of the archeological finds of 1912 between Germany and Egypt. The secretary of the DOG, who was the author of the document and was present at the meeting, wrote that Borchardt "wanted to save the bust for us" (Dempsy, 2009). Borchardt is suspected of having concealed the bust's real value, although [obviously] he denied doing so (Boyes, 2009; Breger, 2016: 288).
*The only version of the 3D artifact that I had ever seen was the copy in the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose in the Amarna section, so I would always tell everyone on tours that it was a copy of the one in the Berlin Museum, which in itself was not meant to be a fancy bust, per se, as it wasn't for decoration. but a 'cheaper' version so artisans could practice and paint portraits and craft intricate busts and statues of Queen Nefertiti without her having to constantly pose for them.
Dietrich Wildung also proposed that the bust in Berlin was a model for official portraits, used by the master sculptor to teach his pupils how to carve the internal structure of the eye, and thus the left iris was not added (Van der Perre, 2014: 68). Gardner's Art Through the Ages and Silverman present a similar view that the bust was deliberately kept unfinished (Van der Perre, 2014; Silverman, Wegner, & Wegner,2006).
Brief Shift in Art Style
While Nefertiti was queen, the culture of the religious, the governmental, and the artistic parts of the world shifted. The 'monotheistic' worship of the Aten (the Sun Disk) took power away from the old temples and moved the capital to Tell el-Amarna (where the bust was found) and kept building lives in a homes in an open way with many windows and the house itself being surrounded by gardens. Nature was brought to them.
"The Garden, a fresco from Nebamun tomb, originally in Thebes, Egypt. The fresco depicts the pool in Nebamun's estate garden; circa 1350 BC; painted plaster; height: 64 cm (maxim); British Museum (London)" (link - <https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA37983>).
"Model of Meketra's house and garden from his tomb at Thebes, which consists of a shady grove of trees surrounding a central garden; circa 1981–1975 BC; painted wood and copper; height: 39.5 cm (159⁄16 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)" (donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art).
According to David Silverman, the bust reflects the classical Egyptian art style, deviating from the "eccentricities" of the Amarna art style, which was developed in Akhenaten's reign (Silverman, 1997). The old artistic style of sharpness and deliberate perfection to details is reflected in the sharpness of her features. This was, however, also mixed with the natural beauty of the Amarna style (Paglia, 1990) and an almost caricature-ish style.
Nefertiti worshipping the Aten. Limestone relief. Nefertiti makes offerings to the Aten. Hieroglyphs:"Nb-t, taui", she is named as: "Lord-(female), of the Two Lands"-(then her cartouche). She is "Lordess of the Two Lands, Nefertiti". On display at Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. (transferred from Egypt Archive).
A "house altars" depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three of their daughters; limestone; New Kingdom, Amarna period, 18th dynasty; c. 1345-1350 BC. Collection: Ägyptisches Museum (Pergamon Museum) Berlin, Inv. 14145.
That she was Nubin, She was BLACK
"First, Ancient Egypt was in Africa. Second, the natives of ancient Egypt referred to their country as Kemet, “Land of the Blacks” or “the Black Land.” In addition to this, the ancient Egyptian language was African, not Indo-European, Semitic or “Afro-asiatic.” The hieroglyphic images and symbols employed by the ancient Egyptians are native African in origin. The royal mummies are generally African and have high melanin levels consistent with Black people. The blood type and physical remains of the general population are consistent with other Nile Valley Africans. The culture of the ancient Egyptians, i.e., religion, family structure, social organization, cosmogony, etc., is typically African. Moreover, ancient Hebrew, Greek and Roman eyewitnesses overwhelmingly described the ancient Egyptians as Black people." (Clegg, 2018)
- Facial shape
Also likely influenced by the Amarna art style of the time, Nefertiti's bust had a purposefully manipulated shape. Like her husband's sculptures, the composite of the male and female genders could have been common due to the compilation of the Aten, who was believed to be both male and female at the same time. Which is why there have been several papers looking at the gender around Nefertiti, what's depicted in her bust. Even Hawass said that the new style seen in the bust is part of the changes introduced by Akhenaten (Szabo, 2009). According to Arnold, D., Green, L., & Allen, J. P. "Nefertiti appearing as a sculptural double of Akhenaten is paralleled most closely in the facial resemblances of kings or queens to deities. Many sculptures of gods and goddesses in Egyptian art of all periods are endowed with the facial features of the ruling king or queen, [as] a way of expressing the Egyptian belief that the pharaoh was the representative of god on earth (Robins, I993: 25, fig. 2, 45-52)" (1996).
- Coloring...
Queens could supposedly be paler, being inside more commonly, not working, but that wouldn't remove the darker skin pigmentation from melanin. Even when the Nubian royal family did have children with the royal Egyptians who may have had slightly fairer skin, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WHITE [just getting that out there]. Much of the time statues of pharaohs and their queens would have painted red, just like statues of the gods, identifying them as greater (Ertman, 1976: 63-4). While the paint may have faded to a point, the red shouldn't have completely lightened, like in the example below.
Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Louvre Museum, Paris. (Photo taken by Rama in 2007).
Description of the Bust's Artsy Aspects
The bust is 48 centimetres (19 in) tall and weighs about 20 kilograms (44 lb). It is made of a limestone core covered with painted stucco layers. The face is symmetrical and mostly intact, except for the left eye lacks the inlay present in the right (Janson & Janson, 2004; Silverman, Wegner, & Wegner, 2006). The pupil of the right eye is of inserted quartz with black paint and is fixed with beeswax. The background of the eye-socket is unadorned limestone.
- Pigments
Borchardt commissioned a chemical analysis of the colored pigments of the head. The result of the examination was published in the book Portrait of Queen Nofretete in 1923 (Anthes & Bauer, 1961).
Blue: powdered frit, colored with copper oxide
Skin colour (light red): fine powdered lime spar colored with red chalk (iron oxide)
Yellow: orpiment (arsenic sulfide)
Green: powdered frit, coloured with copper and iron oxide
Black: coal with wax as a binding medium
White: chalk
By examining these colors on the modello, archaeologist were first, able to tell that the pigments were made and painted by the ancient Egyptian methods. But more recently, with the CT scanning technology in 1992 and then in 2006 researchers saw cross sections of the bust every five millimetres (0.20 in) (McGroarty, 2009: 1-2; Illerhaus, Staude, & Meinel, 2009). In 2006, Dietrich Wildung, the director of Berlin's Egyptian Museum, observed wrinkles on Nefertiti's neck and bags under her eyes while trying a different lighting at the Altes Museum, where the bust was displayed at the time. This suggested to the director that the sculptor had tried to depict signs of aging and the CT scan confirmed Wildung's findings. The sculpture, Thutmose, had added gypsum under the cheeks and eyes in an attempt to perfect and add more detail his sculpture (Lorenzi, 2006).
The scan revealed that Thutmose placed layers of varying thickness on top of the limestone core. The inner face has creases around her mouth and cheeks and a swelling on the nose (Radiological Society of North America, 2009). The creases and the bump on the nose are leveled by the outermost stucco layer (Radiological Society of North America, 2009). According to Huppertz, this may reflect "aesthetic ideals of the era" (Huppertz, Wildung, Kemp, Nentwig, Asbach, Rasche, & Hamm, 2009: 233-240). The 2006 scan, providing greater detail than the 1992 one, revealed subtle details just 1–2 millimetres (0.039–0.079 in) under the stucco (McGroarty, 2009: 1-2; Radiological Society of North America, 2009). And the same 2006 CT scan, led by Alexander Huppertz, director of the Imaging Science Institute in Berlin, showed the wrinkled face of Nefertiti that was carved in the inner core of the bust (Illerhaus, Staude, Meinel, 2009). These results, however, weren't published until the April 2009 issue of Radiology (Huppertz, Wildung, Kemp, Nentwig, Asbach, Rasche, & Hamm, 2009: 233-240).
A granite head statue of Nefertiti. The securing post at head apex allows for different hairstyles to adorn the head. Altes Museum, Berlin (Photo from Keith Schengili-Roberts, 2006).
Head of queen Nefertiti, Egyptian Museum Berlin (Altes Museum), Inv. Nr. 21352 (Photo by Sat Ra, 2006.
"released Tuesday, March 31, 2009 by the Radiological Society of North America, ... Researchers in Germany have used a modern medical procedure to uncover a secret within one of ancient Egypt's most treasured artworks _ the bust of Nefertiti has two faces. The differences between the faces, though slight _ creases at the corners of the mouth, a bump on the nose of the stone version _ suggest to Dr. Alexander Huppertz, director of the Imaging Science Institute at Berlin's Charite hospital and medical school, that someone expressly ordered the adjustments between stone and stucco when royal sculptors immortalized the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten 3,300 years ago. (AP Photo/Radiological Society of North America)" (Huppertz, Wildung, Kemp, Nentwig, Asbach, Rasche, & Hamm, 2009).
- The Headdress
Nefertiti is wearing her characteristic "Egyptian blue" crown known as the "Nefertiti cap-crown", complete with a golden diadem band looped around it, appearing like horizontal ribbons that join at the back are multicolored. In the front, an Uraeus (cobra), which had broken off long ago, would have shown a coiled cobra symbolizing Wdjt [without the vowels] or how people normally say it Wadjet (/ˈwɑːdˌdʒɛt/ or /ˈwædˌdʒɛt/; Ancient Egyptian: wꜢḏyt "Green One") [also spelt Wadjit, Wedjet, Uadjet or Ua Zit]. The cobra snake goddess was/is matron and protector of: the pharaoh, women in childbirth, and, at first only Lower, but after the unification of the two ancient side of Upper and Lower Kingdoms, of all of Egypt (Budge, 1969; Wilksinson, 2003; "Wadjet" Encyclopedia Britannica).
While many of the statues found lack the vibrant blue color of the bust, the Egyptian blue was found on artworks in the 1890s, before repainting was common (Ertman, 1976). Other than Nefertiti, and her daughters, only kings would wear the cap-crown and outside the Amarna period it's found that most, if not all, were yellow, and the reason for the changes is not understood (Ertman, 1976: 65). Since it only shows up in one representation from the Old Kingdom, by Pepi II as a child, then in the 12th Dynasty, then it was likely brought back in the Amarna period (18th Dynasty) and then, skipping many more years, brought back again in the 20th Dynasty (Ertman, 1976: 64). The significance of these crowns, even without the blue coloring, is that they are believed to signify a child of or priest of a god, and thus Nefertiti was seen as equal to a pharaoh (Harris in Ertman, 1976: 64; Edwards, 1955). This begs the question as to why the bust/modello itself wasn't painted more red, as, again, that would have been used to identify royalty as deities (Ertman, 1976: 63-64).
Reminiscent in style and shape to the khepresh, the rounder crown worn by Akhenaten in the photo above. The cap-crown, however, is taller and flat, and is thought to also be shaped to the head or the hair (Harris in Ertman, 1976: 63-65; Edwards, 1955). And this could possibly be demonstrating childhood skull-binding, making the skull longer to follow specific beauty standards (Snorrason, 1946). SInce we haven't found Nefertiti's mummy yet, it's hard to prove this, though it has been a demonstrated practice found in the mummies of other rulers (Snorrason, 1946; Risse, 1971).
- The Makeup
The modello itself does not appear to be wearing much in the way of makeup; likely over the centuries the paint pigments would have faded, though not nearly as totally as the paint of the Greek marble statues [helps to have been hidden in a sheltered area, out of the elements]. Both males and females of all stations would have worn at least some makeup, it was both a religious adornment and practical in the arid desert climate. Some of the material they used was not so healthy for the body, like lead.
Kohl, which was used as a thick black eyeliner could be made out of various materials, including: carbon black (coal/soot), iron oxide, galena (lead sulphide), or stibnite (antimony sulphide) (Gabriela, 2011; Eye cosmetics, 1932). After mixing the powders substances with saliva or resin or some other liquid, if available, acted like today's eyeliner and mascara and the cheek lines on sports players and helped keep the sun out of the wearers eyes [very useful in Egypt], and its stickiness could also help keep bugs from crawling into the eyes (Allen & Ticknore, 1834, Eye Cosmetics, 1932). While the first two base ingredients listed were harmless, sometimes lead or other toxic materials would be added to ingredient list to prevent outside bacteria and other biological material from spreading their hazards into the body (Bhanoo, 2010). Although this was seen as having great benefit, especially for babies and children in which case was said to prevent "bad eye" and improve eye health, did come with problems of its own (Filella, Martignier, & Turner, 2020). The poison seeped through the sick and entered the bloodstream poisoning the body, affecting the brain, the nervous and reproductive systems, and more (Filella, Martignier, & Turner, 2020). But all the gods wore it, so the lining of the eyes was extremely culturally significant.
What wasn't included in the bust was neither the malachite powder (a green mineral) used for eye shadow nor the red oche that was used in lip coloring.
- The Collar Necklace
Jewelry was and still is used a personal decoration and a status symbol. The literal stones used included the blue faience, and the red, yellow, and green stones would have had to be made (in the case of faience) and shaped into the beads that would be strung intricately on a string, all in all taking a lot of time and effort.
The particular collar depicted in the bust looks to me to fit the model of the "plant-form collar". These designs were one of, if not the only design found at Amarna, and especially that included faience, and have the different pendent forms (Boyce, 1995; Bell, 1987: 56-7; D'Auria, Lacovara, & Roehrig, 1988: 133-4). M. Bell's work shows that these collars appear to have been more commonly worn as part of festivals or ritual events, and also appeared as part of the funerary dress [bringing life to the afterlife] (Boyce, 1995; Bell, 1987: 56-7; D'Auria, Lacovara, & Roehrig, 1988: 133-4). Since, however, plant-form pendants show up more commonly in private houses, where not many funerary materials have been found, it suggests that (at least in Amarna) the collars were for use primarily by the living, instead of the dead (Boyce, 1995: 341-2).
"The plant-form collar has been interpreted as a symbol of rebirth and regeneration (Bell, 1987: 57)" (Boyce, 1995: 342). Associations with the god Osiris would have evolved prior to the rule of Akhenaten and the change of religion (Bell 1987: 57) because it does appear to have been fully integrated (Boyce, 1995: 342). According to Boyce, "[i]deas of rebirth and regeneration appear to have been as important to the worshippers of the Aten as to the followers of the traditional religion. The main pendants used as part of "plant-form" collars depict fruit, flowers, and leaves" (Boyce, 1995: 341). Imitating garlands made from real plants, at least some of these designs, have been interpreted as representations of plants containing narcotic substances like: the mandrake fruit, opium poppy, and lotus flower, which all contain psychoactive drugs, and grapes and dates were used in alcoholic drinks. Since alcohol and drugs were likely consumed during certain festivals (Harer 1984: 100-2) "this may reinforce the idea that such collars were intended for festival use" (Boyce, 1995: 342).
- The Missing eye
Now to one of the most discussed aspects of the bust, the missing left eye. Both would have been kept in place with beeswax and the naturally white coloring of the limestone shines through the quartz crystal (Tyldesley, 1999). There are many hypotheses as to why the bust may have a missing eye, and I'll go through several that I could find. Because it may have been a modello and not a real bust, the eye may have simply been left out. For the purpose of making more busts and art pieces, both of the eyes look the same and, therefore, they would need only one example. This wasn't only something that I learned at the museum, in the tour guide script, it was also discussed in texts by Van der Perre, Silverman, Wegner, & Wegner.
Like mentioned above, the bust in Berlin is thought to be a modello for official portraits and was used for teaching students how to carve the internal structures of the eyes, so perhaps the left iris was not added (Van der Perre, 2014: 68). Gardner's Art Through the Ages and Silverman present a similar view that the bust was deliberately kept unfinished (Van der Perre, 2014; Silverman, Wegner, & Wegner,2006). Alternatively, Hawass suggested that Thutmose had created the eye, but it was later destroyed (Szabo, 2009). Or according to Tyldesley it just fell out in the workshop at some point between antiquity and it's uncovering (Tyldesley, 1999).
Or, my favorite [cause it's the most 'in-depth'], the missing eye may have also been symbolic, one example of what's called the Amarna eye (Slotsky & Ross, 2008). From the Banks of the Euphrates: Studies in Honor of Alice Louise Slotsky. United States: Pennsylvania State University Press.. Other than the faience eyes, that resemble/match the "eye of Horus", likely as a hold-over. Unfortunately, hardly any Amarna eyes have survived and that may have been due to the religious nature of the eye symbol itself. In these times, and into the next generation, of upheaval there were rulers that the later kings would rather forget, or ever worse, condemn their souls in the afterlife. One way to do that was to scratch out hieroglyphic names on statues and writings, basically erasing them from existence, and another was to scratch out the eyes. This is even stronger argument because the priests and leaders who came back to power after the Amarna period ended were extremely hateful of all the changes that Akhenaten put in place that took away their power in the last generation. But, while it's a neat idea, there isn't enough concrete evidence to prove... yet.
Conclusions: Today's Problems and Solutions
- Is the One in Berlin Real or Fake?
In The Bust of Nefertiti – a Fraud in Egyptology? by Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin and in the book Missing Link in Archaeology by the Berlin author and historian Erdogan Ercivan, the bust was claimed to be a 'modern' fake. Stierlin had claims that Borchardt himself created the bust to test ancient pigments and that when the bust was admired by Prince Johann Georg of Saxony he supposedly pretended it was genuine to avoid offending the prince. According to this idea Borchardt also argued that the missing left eye of the bust would have been a sign of disrespect in ancient Egypt [which it could easy have been]. Since there aren't many scientific records of the bust appearing until around 11 years after its supposed discovery and, while the paint pigments are ancient, the inner limestone core has never been dated, because we don't want to break the outer layer [maybe curse you old scientists, y'all knew future archaeologists wouldn't want to break artifacts *sarcastically shakes fist*]. And the other kinda conspiracy theory from Ercivan suggests Borchardt's wife was the model for the bust and both authors argue that it was not revealed to the public until 1924 because it was a fake (Connolly, 2009). [But, of course, most, if not all of this seems like speculation from just two white men, not the most well-rounded academic sources, so while reading sources, be cautious of where they actually come from.] Another theory was that the existing bust was crafted in the 1930s on Hitler's orders and that the original was lost in World War II, but this doesn't seem true at all ("Nefertiti's 'hidden face' proves Berlin bust is not Hitler's fake", 2009).
Obviously an embarrassed Dietrich Wildung would have dismissed the claims as a publicity stunt after radiological tests, detailed computer tomography, and material analysis have proved its authenticity (Connolly, 2009). What nailed it is not only that the pigments used on the bust have been matched to those used by ancient Egyptian artisans, but the 2006 CT scan had discovered the "hidden face" of Nefertiti and thus, according to Science News, proved that the bust was genuine ("Nefertiti's 'hidden face' proves Berlin bust is not Hitler's fake", 2009).
- Repatriation
Since the bust's official unveiling in Berlin in 1924, Egyptian authorities have been rightly demanding its return; however no matter what the approach or ask the Bust still remains in Berlin to this day [hope that changes soon] (Breger, 2006: 285; "The Bust of Nefertiti: A Chronology", 2007; Sieher, 2006 :116). When asking didn't work Egypt threatened to ban German excavations in Egypt unless the bust was returned in 1925; and even four years later, in 1929, Egypt offered to exchange other artifacts for the bust, but Germany continued to decline. Although Germany had previously strongly opposed repatriation, in 1933 Hermann Göring considered returning the bust to King Farouk Fouad of Egypt as a political gesture, but Hitler opposed the idea and told the Egyptian government that he would build a new Egyptian museum for Nefertiti so they could keep it [as if we needed another reason to hate him] (Boyes, 2009; Sieher, 2006: 116). Even when Egypt requested the bust to be returned while under American control, of course, the US refused and advised Egypt to take up the matter with the new German authorities ("The Bust of Nefertiti: A Chronology", 2007). But, even up into the 1950s, Egypt tried to initiate negotiations, but there was no response from Germany ("The Bust of Nefertiti: A Chronology", 2007; Sieher, 2006: 116). In 1989, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak viewed the bust and announced that Nefertiti was "the best ambassador for Egypt" and should stay in Berlin ("The Bust of Nefertiti: A Chronology", 2007).
Zahi Hawass and Kurt G. Siehr continue to fight for the bust to return Egypt, arguing that it was taken out of Egypt illegally because Egyptian authorities were misled over the acquisition of the bust in 1913 and demanded that Germany prove that it was exported legally (Dempsy, 2009; Kimmelman, 2009; Siehr, 2006). Several German art experts have attempted to refute all the claims made by Hawass, pointing to the 1924 document discussing the pact between Borchardt and Egyptian authorities (Dempsy, 2009; Kimmelman, 2009). However, in December 2009, Friederike Seyfried, director of Berlin's Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, presented Egyptians documents regarding the discovery of the bust. In the documents, the bust was listed as a painted plaster bust of a princess, but in his diary, Borchardt clearly referred to it as the head of Nefertiti. "This proves that Borchardt wrote this description so that his country can get the statue," Hawass said, "...[and] these materials confirm Egypt's contention that (he) did act unethically with intent to deceive" and, therefore, Egypt didn't consider the bust to be a looted artifact based on the protocol was included in the documents and signed by the German excavator and the Egyptian Antiquities Service. (Morrison, 2007).
Really the only argument that should matter, which Siehr makes in support of repatriation, is that "Archeological finds have their 'home' in the country of origin and should be preserved in that country" (Siehr, 2006). The repatriation issue springs up again and again: from 2003 over the Body of Nefertiti sculpture, in 2005 Hawass requested for UNESCO to intervene (El-Aref, 2005), in 2007, Hawass threatened to ban exhibitions of Egyptian artifacts in Germany along with a worldwide boycott of loans to German museums to initiate what he called a "scientific war". For a more detailed timeline check out the campaign called "Nefertiti Travels", which was launched by cultural association CulturCooperation, based in Hamburg, Germany. During the campaign postcards depicting the bust with the words "Return to Sender" distributed and the group wrote an open letter to German Culture Minister Bernd Neumann supporting the view that Egypt should be given the bust on loan (Moore, 2007; "The Bust of Nefertiti: A Chronology", 2007). In 2009 the bust was moved back to the Neues Museum and the appropriateness of its position in Berlin as was finally questioned, but the director of the museum was quoted as saying that the authority to approve the return of the bust to Egypt lies with Prussian Cultural Heritage and the German culture minister (El-Deeb, 2009). And, even for the 2012 opening of the new Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza, Germany wouldn't lend the bust to Egypt (Morrison, 2007). German authorities have argued the bust is too fragile to transport and that legal arguments for repatriation were insubstantial. Although, according to The Times, Germany might be worried that returning the bust to Egypt, even as a loan, would mean its permanent departure from Germany (Boyes, 2009; Morrison, 2007).
So does it REALLY matter if the Berlin bust is authentically ancient? Well, hell yes and no. For the reality of historical fact it is important to know that the true bust is still being unfairly held by the Berlin Museum. But, in the artistic sense, the style, pigments, and materials match what the Ancient Egyptians were doing. Basically, if it was a fake, then the historical archaeological artifact is a marvel in ancient art replication, and getting material that is much older than the date it was made. What's most important [to me at least] is the inspiration that has followed this piece for over a century. The mystery, the magic, the multitude of scientific fields that branch from each little portion of the bust. The entire thing is simply incredible and we should never take recorded human history, in any form, for granted.
Further Info:
"Archaeological Controversy: Did Germany Cheat to Get Bust of Nefertiti?". Spiegel Online. 10 February 2009.
Radiological Society of North America. Researchers use CT to examine hidden face in Nefertiti bust.
The Bust of Nefertiti: A Chronology / Sources - The sources for the timeline of Nefertiti's bust. (goes as recent as 2009).
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