History Art / NefertitiBust

The Nefertiti bust is one of the most well-known pieces of art from AncientEgypt and a strong contender to the title of most famous bust of all-time. The painted stucco-coated limestone bust depicts Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of UsefulNotes/{{Akhenaten}}, an identification made because the iconic cap crown worn by the unlabelled bust is the same one worn in labelled depictions of the queen. The bust's creator is theorized to be Thutmose, the royal sculptor, on account that it was discovered in his workshop in Amarna at the end of 1912. The bust is furthermore given a creation date of 1345 BC and was the one complete bust among several.

The discovery of the bust was made by the German archeologist Ludwig Borchardt, who took it back to Germany with him by downplaying the bust's significance in his excavation reports so that Egypt wouldn't object. The bust fell into the care of James Simon, the sponsor of the Amarna excavation, for less than a year. It was then first lent and later donated to the Neues Museum in Berlin, which put it on display eleven years later in 1924. The bust was a hit with the international community and has been integrated in the Berlin identity ever since. The unveiling also alerted Egypt of the sour deal they'd been manipulated into when they let Germany take part of the Amarna finds. This was the start of ongoing demands for the bust to be returned to Egypt, even if temporarily, all of which have been denied so far. In 2009, the claim arose that the Nefertiti bust is a fake, but material analysis and historical documentation provide no credence to this proposition.

* ProtagonistTitle

* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Nefertiti of Egypt was claimed to possess unparalleled beauty. To immortalize it, this bust was made.

* StockUnsolvedMysteries: The fate of the bust's left iris is a mystery and the only clues available do no more than rank some of several theories as "less likely".
* ColorContrast: The colors of the bust contrast along two duos. Primarily, there's the presence of OrangeBlueContrast from the blue of the crown against its own gold and Nefertiti's brown skin. Secondarily, there's the RedGreenContrast from the green and red band that encircles the crown in the middle and vertically splits in three bands at the back of the crown. It all makes for a striking look.
* CoolCrown: The cap crown Nefertiti wears is unique to her and due to its presence on the bust one of the best known Ancient Egyptian crowns. For comparison, it's easily more recognizable than the khepresh worn by UsefulNotes/{{Akhenaten}} and other pharaohs.

* SerpentOfImmortality: The yellow vertical line on Nefertiti's crown used to end in an uraeus, the upstanding cobra signifying the divinity of the pharaoh. Unsurprisingly for such a frail component, it's broken off some time between 1345 BC and the present.
* SignatureHeadgear: There have been many crowns in Ancient Egyptian history, and due to Nefertiti's bust, her crown is one of the better known among them in present day. Nefertiti is also the only one known to have worn this crown and it's so strongly associated with her that, on one hand, the nameless crown is referred to as hers ("the Nefertiti crown (cap)") and on the other, if someone shows up wearing this crown, no guesses that they're Nefertiti.
* SimpleYetOpulent: Nefertiti's crown cap looks simple enough at first glance, but there's a magnificent level of detail that shows quality. From the green-and-red band encircling the rich blue base to the golden uraeus reaching down across the front to the elegant two strips of red cloth at the base of the back, it all speaks of grandeur. Because the bust is leading in how the crown cap is imagined in today's world, the lack of the uraeus and the easily missed strips of cloth (both of which prominent in carvings) cause those parts to be left out of modern depictions of Nefertiti a good amount of times.

* CluelessMystery: The fate of the bust's left iris is a mystery and the only clues available do no more than rank some of several theories as "less likely".

!!The Nefertiti bust provides examples of:

* SimpleYetOpulent: Nefertiti's crown cap in general. It looks simple enough at first glance, but there's a magnificent level of detail that shows quality. From the green-and-red band encircling the rich blue base to the golden uraeus reaching down across the front to the elegant two strips of red cloth at the base of the back, it all speaks of grandeur. Because the bust is leading in how the crown cap is imagined in today's world, the lack of the uraeus and the easily missed strips of cloth (both of which prominent in carvings) cause those parts to be left out of modern depictions of Nefertiti a good amount of times.

* SimpleYetOpulent: Nefertiti's crown cap in general. It looks simple enough at first glance, but there's a magnificent level of detail that shows quality. From the green-and-red band encircling the rich blue base to the golden uraeus reaching down across the front to the elegant two strips of red cloth at the base of the back, it all speaks of grandeur. Because the bust is leading in how the crown cap is understood in today's world, the lack of the uraeus and the easily missed strips of cloth (both of which prominent in carvings) are left out of modern depictions of Nefertiti a good amount of times.

* SimpleYetOpulent: Nefertiti's crown cap in general. It looks simple enough at first glance, but there's a magnificent level of detail that shows quality. From the green-and-red band encircling the rich blue base to the golden uraeus reaching down across the front to the elegant two strips of red cloth at the base of the back, it all speaks of grandeur. Because the bust is leading in how the crown cap is understood in today's world, the lack of the uraeus and the easily missed strips of cloth (both of which ''very'' prominent in carvings) are left out of modern depictions of Nefertiti a good amount of times.

* SimpleYetOpulent: Nefertiti's crown cap in general. It looks simple enough at first glance, but there's a magnificent level of detail that shows the skill of the designer. From the green-and-red band encircling the rich blue base to the golden uraeus reaching down across the front to the elegant two strips of red cloth at the base of the back, it all speaks of grandeur. Because the bust is leading in how the crown cap is understood in today's world, the lack of the uraeus and the easily missed strips of cloth (both of which ''very'' prominent in carvings) are left out of modern depictions of Nefertiti a good amount of times.

* SimpleYetOpulent: Nefertiti's crown cap in general, but a particular detail are the two strips of red cloth hanging from the base at the back. This is present on the bust, but far less obvious than in carvings depicting Nefertiti, which sometimes add a DramaticWind effect.

* PragmaticAdaptation: In carvings, Nefertiti is always shown as having one or two pieces of cloth hanging from under her cap crown. This might simply be to protect her neck from the sun. The bust, whether for practical or aesthetical reasons, does not depict the cloth. Because of the bust's influence on people's idea what Nefertiti looked like, modern depictions of her don't include the cloth either.

The discovery of the bust was made by the German archeologist Ludwig Borchardt, who took it back to Germany with him by downplaying the bust's significance in his excavation reports so that Egypt wouldn't object. The bust fell into the care of James Simon, the sponsor of the Amarna excavation, for less than a year. It was then first lent and later donated to the Neues Museum in Berlin, which put it on display eleven years later in 1924. The bust was a hit with the international community and has been integrated in the Berlin identity ever since. The unveiling also alerted Egypt of the sour deal they'd been manipulated into when they let Germany take part of the Amarna finds. This was the start of ongoing demands for the bust to be returned to Egypt, even if temporarily, all of which have been denied so far. In 2009, claims arose that the Nefertiti bust is a fake, but material analysis and historical documentation provide no credence to this position.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: The bust depicts an idealized version of Nefertiti rather than that it is true-to-life. CT scans that have been performed in 1992 and 2006 confirm that the sculpture underneath the stucco includes signs of aging on the queen, such as wrinkles and a bump on the nose. The stucco is applied so as to hide the blemishes.

* StatuesqueStunner: Even if it's just a bust, there's tallness to it owing to the long, naked neck, the high cheekbones, and of course the crown that nearly doubles the height. The missing uraeus may even add to the sense of length because without it the bust's profile from forehead to crown is an unbroken line. "Nefer" means "(inner and outer) beauty", but Nefertiti's status as one of the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman is a modern one and largely based on the bust.