The Standing Figure of Nefertiti is a limestone sculpture of

Queen Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in whic ...

, dating from the year 1350 BC. It is in the

Egyptian Museum of Berlin The Egyptian Museum of Berlin (german: Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung) is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the iconic Nefertiti Bust. Since 1855, the collection is a part of t ...

. The queen's depiction is typical of the early

Amarna Period The Amarna Period was an era of History of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian history during the later half of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten ('Horizon of the ...

. She is wearing sandals and a transparent robe. The figure was found in multiple pieces in 1920 during an excavation by the German Oriental Society in the remains of the studio of

Thutmose Thutmose (also rendered Thutmoses, Thutmosis, Tuthmose, Tutmosis, Thothmes, Tuthmosis, Thutmes, Djhutmose, Djehutymes, etc.) is an Anglicization of the Ancient Egyptian personal name ''dhwty-ms'', usually translated as "Born of the god Thoth". Th ...

. As a

Great Royal Wife Great Royal Wife, or alternatively, Chief King's Wife ( Ancient Egyptian: ''ḥmt nswt wrt'', cop, Ⲟⲩⲏⲣ Ⲟⲩⲣϣ), is the title that was used to refer to the principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who served many official ...

, Nefertiti has a special role in the history of Ancient Egypt. For this reason various representations of her have been preserved, although complete statues are rare.

History

The statue was found in 1920 during an excavation by the German Oriental Society in ''house P47.2'', the studio of

. It was acquired by

James Simon James or Jim Simon may refer to: * James Simon (composer) (1880–1944), German composer, pianist and musicologist * James Simon (journalist), journalism professor at Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut * James D. Simon (1897–1982), Loui ...

, who then gave it to the Egyptian Museum. The figure was found broken into several pieces, and remains incomplete to this day. The complete right and parts of the upper left arm, the toes, and the nipples are missing. Markings on the statue indicate that it is not complete. It is believed that further work would have been done on the face to make it more realistic.{{cite web, title=Standing Figure of Nefertiti, url=https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/europe/germany-museums/berlin-museums/neues-museum/masterpieces-of-the-neues-museum/standing-figure-of-nefertiti/, website=The Joy of Museums, accessdate=28 December 2017 Nefertiti Standing-striding Berlin detail

Nefertiti Standing-striding Berlin detail

Nefertiti is depicted with a slightly protruding left leg. The back of the

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

is connected with a floor-to-head back pillar. She is wearing sandals and a transparent robe, which can only be recognized by sleeves on the arms. This depiction is typical of the art of the Amarna period. The queen is depicted as an older woman after the birth of six children. This was done to create a more lifelike portrait of the queen, rather than conform with existing ideals of beauty in

Egyptian art Ancient Egyptian art refers to art produced in ancient Egypt between the 6th millennium BC and the 4th century AD, spanning from Prehistoric Egypt until the Christianization of Roman Egypt. It includes paintings, sculpture ...

. As a result, the face, abdomen, buttocks and breasts show traces of age, a novelty in Egyptian art. The head of the queen is crowned by a tight fitting hood. Underneath is a headband which still contains yellow pigment. The mouth is red, and the eyelids and eyebrows are black. At the neck and above the chest are remnants of another black pattern which indicate a wide shoulder collar. Above the head, a hole is visible in which the front part of the royal

uraeus The Uraeus (), or Ouraeus (Ancient Greek: , ; Egyptian: ', "rearing cobra"), ''(plural: Uraei)'' is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity and divine authority in ancient Egypt. Sym ...

was fastened.

References

Cultural depictions of Nefertiti Sculptures of ancient Egypt Egyptological objects in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Amarna Archaeological discoveries in Egypt 1920 archaeological discoveries