A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Nefertiti at 100 (or 3357) and Still Looking Great

The old rule that one should never comment on the age of a beautiful woman is hopefully outmoded as a sexist one; so I thought I'd be gauche and discuss the age of the well known lady at left. One hundred years ago today, December 6, 1912, the German Archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt dug up what is perhaps the most famous single depiction of a woman from antiquity: the bust of Queen Nefertiti. Made about 1345 BC (so she's closer to 3357), her sculptor somehow captured both a cold beauty and a regal sense of command. Nefertiti was the Great Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten.

The bust is in Berlin; Egypt of course would love to get it back, but won't.

I am also tossing in a photo of a much less well-known statue of Nefertiti, purely because I'm annoyed with the Muslim Brotherhood and she's naked in this one. If you want to make bad puns on "the bust of Nefertiti" you'll have to do it yourselves. We should all look so good when we're 3357.

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