Berlin – In the German capital, all want to see Nefertiti. It is very common to see tourists arriving at Berlin’s Egyptian Museum, which is inside the Neues Museu, and walking straight past the other works. All of that just to closely see the bust of the woman who was one of the most powerful and beautiful queens of Egypt. Nefertiti was the first wife of Pharaoh Akhenaton, who rose to the throne in the 14th Century b.C.
The most famous item exhibited is in an exclusive gallery, protected by armoured glass and a security system similar to that dedicated to the Monalisa, at the Louvre, in Paris. The bust is 47 centimetres tall, weighs 20 kilograms, is made out of stone and is very well preserved.
The author was artist Thutmose, the Pharaohs favourite sculptor. The statue shows a queen with delicate, symmetrical and beautiful features. The bust was found in Egypt in 1912, at excavations promoted by the German Company, established in 1898. The expedition was headed by archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt.
Nefertiti, whose name means "the beautiful has arrived" was immortalised in temples and monuments. She had six kids with Akhenaton and together they promoted cultural and religious transformations in the country, like the replacement of polytheistic cult in Ancient Egypt (celebrating many gods) for monotheism (celebrating just one god). At the insistence of Akhenaton, sun King Aton, represented by the solar circle, should be the god adored.
Nefertiti and the king were depicted in scenes of their daily life with their kids. One curious fact is that as time went by, the image of the queen grows in the representations until it is the same size as the Pharaohs. It seems that she was the most influential woman of Egypt for many decades. Some Egyptologists defend the hypothesis that the queen governed Egypt for two years after the death of her husband.
Little is known of what end the queen who was adored like a goddess by the people of Egypt came to. Some historians believe that she may have been murdered by preachers who defended polytheism.
The Egyptian Museum of Berlin has one of the world’s most important collections of Ancient Egyptian art, mainly of the time of King Akhenaton. Apart from the bust of Nefertiti, whose colouring is original – and has not been restored -, there are other notable items. The collection includes works of art from different times in Ancient Egypt: statues and reliefs, as well as ornamental items of Egyptian architecture showing the periods from 4,000 b.C. to Roman times.
Controversy
One year after the discovery of the bust of Nefertiti, in 1913, negotiations took place between the German archaeologist and Egyptian authorities to define what items would remain with the Egyptians and which would be taken to Germany. That was when the controversy regarding the work began and the impasse remains to date. The Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiques defends that the archaeologist cheated Egyptian authorities, making them believe that the discovery was only a simple statue of an Egyptian princess, though he knew it was valuable. The Germans, in turn, defend that the removal was legal as it counted on the approval of the Egyptians.
In truth, the controversy regarding the bust of Nefertiti involves all the riches of European museums due to the not-always-legal appropriation of works of art. The requests for devolution of pieces like parts of the Parthenon in Athens, for example, currently at the British Museum, in London, were also never answered. The arguments of those who have the items in hand go from the legality of possession to allegations that the countries of origin would not be able to keep and preserve them.
While negotiations for the return of the statue to Egypt continue, the bust of Nefertiti continues hypnotizing thousands of visitors due to the beauty and delicacy of the work.
*Translated by Mark Ament
