Behind-the-Scenes: Bust of Nefertiti Moved to Neues Museum
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| Egyptian, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (ca. 1351-1327 B.C.). Bust of Nefertiti. Painted limestone with gypsum plaster layers. H. 50 cm (19.7 in.). © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum. Photograph by Jürgen Liepe. |
By STAN PARCHIN
October 5, 2009
With high security measures in place, the world-famous Egyptian Bust of Nefertiti (ca. 1351-1327 B.C.) was transferred last Sunday from Berlin's Altes Museum to its previous location at the nearby Neues Museum, restored by British architect David Chipperfield at a cost of €200 million ($292 million). The painted plaster and limestone sculpture, prized by German Fascist dictator Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), was safely stored in a salt mine in 1943, two years before the Soviet Union's invading Red Army bombed the Neues Museum during the height of World War II (1939-1945).
The beautiful Bust of Nefertiti was discovered by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt (1863-1938) in 1912. The likeness of the principal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten (ca. 1353-1335 B.C.), Egypt's monotheistic ruler, was unearthed at Amarna, the archaeological site of the king's capital city, and transported to Berlin the following year. The circumstances of the work's acquisition by Germany have been the subject of recent heated debate. Egypt is insisting on the repatriation of the artifact, too fragile to travel long distances.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the packaging, move and reinstallation of the legendary Bust of Nefertiti, click on the presentation below.
Special thanks to Father Raymond J. Sweitzer, S.J.
Source
Arnold, Dorothea, et al. The Royal Women of Amarna (exh. cat.). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997.
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