November 12, 2019 ☼ history ☼ 1370BC ☼ egypt

Nefertiti

The 3D scan of the famous Bust of Nefertiti (Egyptian Museum of Berlin) is finally available (thanks to the extensive efforts of journalist Cosmo Wenman)

The “Nefertiti Bust” is perhaps one of the most well-known ancient sculptures. Crafted in 1345 BC, most probably by sculptor Thutmose, it is considered an icon of feminine beauty. It was discovered in 1912 by by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt.

Just to help with a quick historical reference:
there are two more names which should be associated with Nefertiti: Tutankhamun and Akhenaten (Amenophis IV)

• her stepson Tutankhamun (its famous mask was discovered by Howard Carter in 1925)
  Tutankhamun was the son of her husband Akhenaten (see below); Akhenaten and Nefertiti had 6 daughters, and Tutankhamun married one of them (so his half-sister); yeah, family ties were complicated back then.

• her husband Akhenaten (Amenophis IV), the “heretic” pharaoh, one my favourites :)
  In 1346 BC he switched the religion to a MONOTHEISTIC one (Atenism, based on the solar god Aten), which makes the latter one the oldest monotheistic religions !! (Fun fact: Freud suggested in ‘Moses and Monotheism’ that Moses was an Atenist priest, forced to leave Egypt following Akhenaten’s death). He moved the capital to Akhetaten (El-Amarna) in order to build a new core. He was not quite successful - neither internally (due hard opposition of the priesthood and nobles), nor as a regional leader (on his defence, he was contemporary with one of the greatest ruler in history, the Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I). Needless to say, his legacy was quickly destroyed after his death; being branded as a heretic, his name was erased from historical records.