The Mystery of Nefertiti's Bust | Documentary

The Controversial Authenticity and Illicit Journey of the Egyptian Queen's Iconic Sculpture.
0:00 🔍 The authenticity of the famous Nefertiti bust is questioned by some experts.
5:46 👑 The queen of Egypt, Nefertiti, is known for her beauty and her relationship with her husband, Akhenaton. They ruled during the 18th dynasty and established a new religion centered around the worship of the sun god, Aton. Their reign was short-lived and their city, Akhetaton, was eventually abandoned.
11:51 🔎 In the early 20th century, the Prussian archaeologist Borschacht discovered the bust of Nefertiti in the city of Akhenaton, Egypt, after conducting extensive excavations in the area.
17:42 🔍 An investigation raises doubts about the authenticity of the bust of Nefertiti.
23:32 🔍 The authenticity of the Nefertiti bust is questioned due to its use as a model and its absence from public display for many years.
35:54 🔍 Analysis of pigments found on the bust of Nefertiti confirms the use of authentic materials, but does not provide an age for the sculpture.
42:26 🔍 Investigation reveals illegal removal of Nefertiti bust from Egypt to Berlin in 1913.
48:29 🔍 The controversy surrounding the sharing of artifacts from an archaeological dig in Egypt is brought to light.
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[@cgoodson2010]

Like you, I saw the bust of Nefertiti in the Berlin Museum when the Wall still separated East and West Berlin. The bust is beyond description. Truly inspired, whether authentic or not, this bust of Nefertiti is a masterpiece.

[@Wallyworld30]

They did a CT Scan on the Bust in 2006 and found that it's in fact genuine. This attempt to discredit the Bust smells a bit much like sour grapes to me. Unless it's proven fake I have no reason to doubt it's authenticity. This documentary is in bad faith and pre youtube version of clickbait.

[@bimmerheadn5492]

It is a crime against history and an insult to the ancient Egyptians, Nefertiti was a black African woman not a white woman.

[@Alanz2023]

Nefertiti she was the greatest queen but since her death here enemy they wanted to wipe here from history just because she wasn’t Egyptian she was from Hittite empire and she could change the religion from worshiping leaders and priest to worship the sun in the sky and even here civilization to be wiped out the Hittite and the Kurds who they use to be Hittite was not given a country and the countries who they dominate the Kurdish land paying just to wipe any history related to the Kurds including Nefertiti and here originality

[@eudyptes5046]

@@Alanz2023 Quite some gibberish.

[@user-jp5xl1ui7x]

​@@Alanz2023она Нефертити была одна из самых красивых женщин Древнего Египта, не была она из Хеттской империи царица Нефертити, она могла быть не египтянкой, а внеземной инопланетянкой Нефертити.

[@FreejackVesa]

Now that I'm thinking about it, it really does look insanely good for being 3000 years old

[@2degucitas]

It was found in a sculptor's workshop. Her husband was the one hated by royal egyptians for turning things upside down. Her bust was possibly spared by those tasked with defacing their likenesses.

[@anniedarkhorse6791]

@@2degucitas That doesn't explain why a painted bust, left lying in the elements, retained perfect paint for thousands of years. I'm not convinced it's real, especially considering the state of the rest of the dig-site.

[@romulusbuta9318]

@@anniedarkhorse6791 in fact....does NOT really maters....'couse THE PEOPLE REALLY LIKE TO SAVURATE VERY GOOD STORIES . .. about kings and queens. . .....about ancient times.....about love.....and people in power.....and hate and revenge.....about exotic lands ....and so......☝️😃

[@gaminawulfsdottir3253]

It looks insanely modern; lifelike, whereas most other art from the period was stylized.

[@turtlefromthenorth]

@@anniedarkhorse6791 This theory has been up for debate a few times. There are surprisingly well preserved items found in the dry sand, like some naturally mummified humans and animals. Some of them have been found in better condition than the ceremoniously mummified counterparts. The artifacts in Tutankhamun`s toomb was in good condition. Art historians have always pointed out that among the more stylised portraits and statues there are some that are much more naturalistic, all made in the same period, even of the same person. Hard to make any final conclusion either way.

[@JelMain]

The reason you can't use Akhenaten as a baseline is because he made such serious enemies of the priesthood while alive, they did their utmost to erase all trace of him while dead - in the process accidentally preserving so many documents he's one of the best-documented rulers of the era, particularly in the correspondence with the Hittites.

[@kanadashyuugo873]

That's because the priesthood believed letting Amarna degrade into the desert will ERASE his memory, but archaelogy proved quite the opposite. It was unintended consequences

[@JelMain]

@@kanadashyuugo873 They did a fairish job, admittedly, but lost after the stabilisation of the timeline gave stronger context to the Moses legend.

[@kanadashyuugo873]

@@JelMain Akhenaten was UTTERLY DESTROYED after TutankhAmun

[@JelMain]

@@kanadashyuugo873 So how come Tut changed his name from the original Tuthankhaten? Aten was his monotheistic pharaoh's Sun God, and once the Priesthood destroyed his memory, everyone with an-aten name changed it to the traditional -amun.

[@kanadashyuugo873]

@@JelMain He died at... 15-16? It was very likely NOT his choice but his handler's. Lucky he died charioting in the desert, for Kemet at least.

[@Luiz-ux5vd]

If it were a forgery, the forger would undoubtedly have been a genius artist. It's not just a beautiful piece, it's something special.

[@KasumiRINA]

Why and how would a forger would make a bust and hide it in forgotten ruins Amarna, city long lost because Akhenaten was cursed for trying to change Egyptian religion?

[@chillpillology]

@@KasumiRINA no one saw it unearthed. it was “brought out” on site as a found object for a high profile politician. it was likely a masterpiece made by a forger imo. tons of insanely talented forgers. best way to make money as an artist. when was the last time you personally bought an original work of sculpture art? art is rarely considered valuable until after the artist dies, but thats too late to make a living for your family. this theory is extremely plausible. he was also known to visit a talented forger. what archeologist visits forgers?

[@momkatmax]

I wonder if they found the PLAIN bust and then had someone paint it with the pigments found in the area to make it so profound? It took a great find to one that rises above all else.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

Most forgers are

[@OrjanGrahn]

If it made by a forger it was so good he had to die after making it ? ...since nothing like the bust have surfaced in 110 years.

[@gointothedogs4634]

I've seen a good copy of this bust in Calif.'s San Jose Rosicrucian egyptology museum, where it first moved me to tears with its perfection. Some years later I came across a National Geographic special edition with some pretty compelling evidence that the bust was not even of Nefertiti, but of her daughter Meritaten. I would certainly love to see the entire mystery resolved once and for all.

[@jaybirdswildwildkingdom7414]

The San Jose Rosicrucian center really is a incredible museum!

[@patricialynveal4017]

Yep,

[@jamesforbes2205]

This would never have been sculpted for Meritaten. And it looks nothing like her. If you look at Tutankhamun's funerary mask, you will see there is a resemblance to Nefertiti. That's because it is almost certainly her mask repurposed.

[@serenanelson5326]

😅L L0

[@duncanmckeown1292]

@@jamesforbes2205 I agree!

[@Dav1Gv]

An interesting video but, taking the standard of proof as 'balance of probability' not 'beyond all reasonable doubt' I didn't consider the established either that it was a forgery or that it was genuine. And saying 'German authorities' stopped someone talking is intended to make us suspicious. One might ask 'which authorities?' The police, some museum director, a politician, the Chancellor.... To me this undermined the whole approach.

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

It's possible Museum directors rather don't want such a famous statue being debunked .Maybe they have doubts and know It would be a huge blow to the image of the museum, certain careers, etc . They can refuse acces to people who want to do any testing just to be on the safe side . But implying German secular 'authorities ' are involved in some conspiracy , and send 'men in black ' around to discourage independent historians is very far fetched .

[@funfact8660]

Logical conclusion

[@trapboxmedia]

Its just an Egypt documentary masquerading as a mystery to grab your attention.

[@tarharqataseti9261]

The bust is made from plaster, and the only plaster busts found in Egypt were made during the Roman era. Do you think a plaster bust would look like the Nefertiti bust after 3300 years?

[@funfact8660]

@@tarharqataseti9261 Limestone with plaster to finish and touch up certain areas, dig deeper

[@laurieallen8040]

Steirlin’s just mad the French didn’t find it with all the time they spent there. As an archaeologist, with several digs spent in Egypt, I can tell you that there are many, many, many amazing things that have come out of the sand, directly out of the sand, picked up, just beautiful. On a sidenote, it is common for archaeologists to speak with the local forgers to find out a lot of different things: technique they use, what’s popular, who is buying, etc.

[@JesusMagicPanties]

It absolutely doesn't matter to me whether it's a contemporary "fake" or an "original" at all. That's for sure that in either case it was done by a great artist who created a mesmerizingly incredible work which you just can't stop looking at. A human genius who needed only a piece of common stone, plaster and paint to transform these into pure and eternal soulfulness. Greetings from Poland

[@BubbleMix-96]

ofcourse it matters. it tells the story of history and culture.

[@JesusMagicPanties]

@@BubbleMix-96 The story of the toxic full of hot air YT nitwits feel an irresistible compulsion to speak out of turn, too

[@janeheseltine5722]

To me it real I used it to get the colours right in the large tapestry I made.she hangs on my wall with her name so everyone who see it knows who she is

[@heidibee501]

If you know the history of these two you realize how hated HE was by the religious elites. The fact that they did not pulverize his image is the real surprise. She survived him and may have made amends with the status quo thereby sidestepping his fate.

[@jennysaranac4454]

Is it a coincidence that her bust resembles a toilet? Asking for a friend...

[@laureldemille623]

She was Irish....like a few other pharaohs....she asked to be buried in her homeland and her tomb ..along 4 other....some believe the continent of Atlantis sstretched Up from the Americas almost to Ireland...and when the teutonic plates started shifting the dark skinned Atlantians sailed into Egypt to settle there......this would explain why these pharaohs are buried in Ireland........pyramids in the Americas are found from Halifax...Nova Scotia all the way down through Wisconsin into south America...and evidence shows that the pyramids in the Americas are much older than those in Egypt.... . Underwater evidence shows this could be true.....

[@Leeuw1962]

Very right!

[@cherylmailloux9647]

That's what I was thinking also they would have smashed his but she fell naturally over time and it was most likely stronger many years ago when it fell 😊

[@billsmith109]

rubbish. plaster drys and decays over time. pigments fade and fall off. your theory doesnt hold water. looks fake. there is nothing in comparison to it. nothing. looks 100 years old. not 3000

[@daneast]

I think the key to actually dating the bust is in the eye. Or more specifically, behind the eye. There must be remnants unknowingly placed behind it by the sculptor. Skin cells, dust and pollen from the air, fibers from clothing, etc. Those kinds of things could only have been sealed behind the eye at the time it was placed and the plaster was molded around it.

[@scienceandinspiration1362]

Good theory

[@SandyCheeks63564]

But they'd have to destroy it to get at that evidence.

[@zehnthaus]

The eye is not sealed by plaster. It consists of a shell made of rock crystal with a pupil made of colored beeswax. It has already been removed to examine the material. That's why parts of the pupil are missing today.

[@SandyCheeks63564]

@@zehnthaus really you think they would vandalize it like that and then leave it that way without replacing the pupil? I doubt it

[@zehnthaus]

@@SandyCheeks63564 Look at detail photos from 1912 and from today, to see, if the right eye's pupil has been intact, and if it is today.

[@eatiegourmet1015]

My great-aunt worked for the US govt in London, and traveled extensively on the continent in the 20's and early 30's, and she had a bust, about 9 or 10 inches tall from it's base, that she'd purchased in Berlin, at the museum. I wish I could remember what the label on the bottom read... It was on my parents' mantle from 1965 when she died. My brother has it now, on his mantle. It is beautiful and quite captivating.

[@MadMomma-kj9ks]

eatiegourmet1015... Well then go and check the label snd let us all know what it says....

[@eatiegourmet1015]

@@MadMomma-kj9ks Ok... Next time I'm there -- it's 2 hours away!

[@MadMomma-kj9ks]

Actually thats a remarkable story. The bust must have had a lot of exposure so a souvenier copy would be in demand..@@eatiegourmet1015

[@MarllonFerrari]

And?

[@MadMomma-kj9ks]

and what?@@MarllonFerrari

[@federicoprice2687]

The Berlin bust of Nefertiti actually more closely resembles that of Ankanutang III than the example in the Cairo museum. Her son Ankanutang became the ruler of Ptahmose, whose son Menkheper, in turn, was High Priest of Ptah in Memphis during the time of Thutmose IV and/or Amenhotep. He was betrothed to Tittipopo the daughter of Abanoubh and his wife Khenemetneferhedjet, and in turn they had a daughter named Neferneferuaten. Neferneferuaten's physiognomy is clearly recorded in an inscription attributed to Amenhotep Ptahmose II, the then High Priest of Maatkare, forming part of the Great Tablet of Pish, and described as being known for having only one RIGHT eye since birth, therefore proving beyond any doubt that he was a direct materlineal descendent of Queen Nefertiti, and proving that the Queen herself only had one RIGHT eye. So the Berlin bust is both genuine and accurate, in that it portrays the opthalmic attributes of the young Queen most perfectly.

[@hatuletoh]

When Zahi Hawass talks about someone stealing, you should listen to him. He's an expert on theft with plenty of proven first-hand knowledge. I'm not sure why people still pay attention to anything else he says, but on the subject of thievery, he's an excellent source.

[@robertagardner5461]

Zahi Hawass was himself caught stealing and that is why he was replaced and his position was given to another academic. This is what I have heard. I know something went wrong and he was caught.

[@jessereichbach588]

Because he's still one of the most legitimate and highly respected Egyptologists out there. And what did he steal exactly? As far as I can tell, he was always serving the best interest of the artifacts. Ensuring they are in the safest place possible. Artifacts don't belong to any single country. There was no Egypt when these were created. The only reason we have 90% of these artifacts is because people like Hawass and Museums protected these items. Just in the last 15 years, tens of thousands of artifacts have been destroyed throughout Iraq and Syria, and in the 20th century Egypt wasn't much better. And he was given his job BACK. That's how respected he is and that's how much they actually cared about this so called "theft".

[@jessereichbach588]

@@robertagardner5461 Oh then why did they give him his job BACK? Because he was always working in the best interest of the artifacts and science, to protect them and ensure they were in the safest place possible. He was ACCUSED. And no one actually cared because Egypt was going through some things and he made the right call.

[@waynemyers2469]

Those charges never stuck and to this day he is considered innocent of any wrongdoing by the Egyptian government, who have the right to have the final word in such matters, as opposed to foreign authorities, European experts and you, who obviously hasn't studied the case but has taken the word of non-Egyptians with a vested interest in the accusations made against Hawass. At the end of the day, even, let's say, if Hawass WAS guilty of stealing Egyptian antiquities, well, hell, at least he's FROM there. You do realize that practically the entirety of Europe raped and pillaged Egypt for artifacts and shamelessly shipped them back to their countries, where most of them remain to this day, for most of the 18th and 19th centuries, right? For at least 200 years Britain, Germany, France and Italy, along with other, smaller European countries excavated without any serious opposition and even used dynamite to uncover hard to access sites and reveal the treasures below, Work-crews reduced many architectural features to rubble while looking for art-treasures, gold and jewelry and some of the most perfectly preserved and impressive pieces were shipped back to Europe without as much as a thank-you. The Egyptian authorities have recently begun legal proceedings to recover many of these pieces from European museums but by the amount of push-back they're getting you'd think the stuff never belonged to them and that brings me to Hawass. Hawass, a successful and respected archaeologist and Egyptologist was hired by the Egyptian government to combat that very legacy of European theft of the material culture of Egypt, he was given free reign to regulate and supervise the sites all over Egypt and to negotiate terms for continued excavations and he was and is doing exactly the job for which he was hired and therein lay the problem: European (and now, American) researchers grew impatient with Hawass and in a great show of hubris and entitlement complained to the government in Cairo that Hawass was standing as a roadblock to their continued excavations and they wanted more of a say in the process and, much to their credit, the governmental officials said NO, Hawass is doing precisely the job he'd been chosen for and they had no reason to change anything...soon after that the accusations began to surface claiming that Hawass was a thief...I wonder why? Foreign researchers should be grateful that the Egyptians allow them any access at all to sites in Egypt, given their history of theft and destruction and colonial-advantage, their activities have been destructive and Egypt itself has been treated with contempt by these European powers so before you go repeating the accusations of a bunch of self-interested white people you should do some research into what was really going on, that is, if you don't want to look and sound like a parrot.

[@rebeccawoehler-moss9627]

He is an idiot. He has been fired from his position.

[@mishap00]

At what point do you start or stop returning "looted" objects? 100 years, 200, 300, a thousand years? Humans have been pillaging other people since the dawn of time and it always gives me a chuckle when I hear Hawass talking about his Egyptian ancestors and denigrating the Ottomans as foreigners when ethnically he has more in common with them than the ancient Egyptians.

[@user-jp5xl1ui7x]

Османы турки, арабы, и персы, никакого отношения к древним египтянам не имеют. Персы, османы турки, арабы, завоёвывали Египет, и потом завоеватели персы, турки, арабы смешались с коренными египтянами.

[@customsongmaker]

​@@user-jp5xl1ui7xso the current inhabitants of Egypt have looted the entire country

[@sunnydays8270]

But how else can archeologists know about history, distort it, lie and hide it, and then tell the people their political 'historical' version they were paid to create to push their evolution belief and racist plots?

[@jessereichbach588]

@@sunnydays8270 You're a fool if you think "archaeologists" are doing any of that, or that it even works like that. Do you know anything about the scientific process or peer review? What you are suggesting is not plausible. What you are suggesting is a paranoid delusional conspiracy theory. Get help. And learn something about how actual archaeology, and academia in general, work. Peer review generally speaking, doesn't allow for ANY of what you are suggesting.

[@jessereichbach588]

That's outright preposterous. You have no idea about the genetics of ancient or modern Egyptians, who are essentially the same population, with slight differences. You are clueless to the FACT that modern Egyptians are the direct descendants of ancient Egyptians. You've never studied genetics, archaeology or actual history in your life and probably didn't pass highschool biology. Ancient Egyptians only had 12% genetic affinity with populations of sub-Saharan Africa. Today they have 20% affinity with populations of sub-Saharan Africa. Really after the Roman period. Islam brought MORE sub-Saharan ancestry into Egypt than there ever was. Not less. So please, stop opening your gob and flatulating all over the place. Hawass like other Egyptians, is a direct descendant of ancient Egyptians, as is the entire Egyptian population. Stop trying to discuss topics that you are ignorant about. Just because YOU want to push some paranoid, delusional political rhtoeric, and because YOU don't have any identity of your own. Modern Egyptians are directly descended from ancient Egyptians, and are genetically closer to ancient Egyptians than some ADOS American or modern Nigerian or modern Tanzanian or modern person from the DRC. It's not even close. Modern Egyptians are still very much Egyptian. You just can't accept the fact that most Egyptians have NEVER EVER looked like you want them to. Ever. Not 6,000 years ago, and not today. You can't stand the fact that ancient Egyptians, were an Afro-Eurasian population. And that North Africans have been Afro-Eurasian for at minimum 12,000 years. LONG before the 1st Egyptian dynasty. And you don't have the education to discern the reality of the situation. Again, more paranoid conspiracy theory, narcissism, envy and jealousy out of a community with one of the worst education records on the face of the planet, despite being in one of the world's wealthiest nations. There are people living in tin shacks in the middle of the woods with better education than the community you come from. Modern Egyptians are more Egyptian than you or your ancestors will ever be. They re Kmt. And their ancestors did not look like you think they did lol.

[@yapsiauwsoengie6507]

Why are other countries treasures never returned to their original owners? Proud Robber?

[@RadioHappy651]

সঠিক বলেছো।

[@luizscarpa]

Que ótimo para a América Latina. Os europeus levaram ouro, pedras preciosas, látex da Amazônia, madeiras nobres como o jacarandá e mogno e biodiversidades dos nossos países. Gostei da idéia de repatriar tudo.

[@g.martins7296]

@@luizscarpa esqueceu o que aconteceu aqui com o Museu Nacional?

[@katjanoack4863]

Nofretete ist eine Fälschung,wie so vieles.

[@Yamaha.ha.ha.ha.]

Nothing was stolen. It was paid for to the locals at the time. Explorer's were hardly war hardy vikings. They went there with money and goods to swop. Just as well because everything would be destroyed if left there. Egypt was ravaged with wars for 100s of years in antiquity when the tombs were all robbed. Arabs took many treasures forcefully. The only items left for the British were small or still hidden at the time. If it wasn't for the British buying items to be brought to England they would be lost forever. Even the Cairo museum was ransacked in the Arab spring uprising. They broke most of what they could get to.

[@EarthScienceTV]

It's fascinating how modern technology like pigment analysis can give us insights into ancient artifacts. But it's frustrating that it can't conclusively prove the age of the Nefertiti bust.

[@christopherpardell4418]

Its genuine. It was found in a trash pit in the artist’s studio, and the claim that there is nothing else like it is patently false, this plaster model was used as the measuring pattern for workers to make other versions of her face. There are several near identical copies carved in stone that were not completed. Akhenaten’s bust is disfigured because he was being erased from egyptian history. Carvings of him were ordered destroyed. But, being a sculptor, myself, I could see why the sculptor of this bust could not bring himself to shatter it before burying it in his trash pit, and covering it with the shattered remains of Akhenaten figuring no one would go digging thru obvious rubbish when Amarna was abandoned.

[@jessereichbach588]

Yup. Naive folks make this assumption that because it's so important to us now, that it must have been so important to people back then. I don't think people understand just how much sculptures toss aside or trash. Or how many copies of one painting some artists will make just to get it perfect. LOL. If they saw Raphael or Michaelangelo's studio they'd be shocked by how much they must have ruined or never used in public. Things that would be worth millions now, were not even seen fit to see the light of day. Heck, they even occasionally ruined incredible blocks of marble in their attempts. Which was and is no joke financially. But plaster is just like, completely disposable.

[@BiboNassim]

I agree with your completely.

[@helenamcginty4920]

When I studied Art history we learned of the sprezzatura. The art of hiding working drawings and sketches so that the finished piece appears completed as if no hard work had been necessary.

[@jessereichbach588]

@@helenamcginty4920 Si, assolutamente bella. Sprezzatura is a way of life. Not just a part time practice. Or as the French might say, l'art de nonchalance.

[@karlaskitties]

So, a documentary about a bust, stolen by the Germans, that should belong to Egypt

[@scloftin8861]

My question would be, why make the bust and miss the eye if it was an experimental copy? The missing eye really argues more for authenticity than it does for a later copy. Doesn't matter, it's still timeless and almost otherworldly beauty.

[@irisdown9758]

I once read that the eye is missing as in all wall paintings the head is in profile so no need for it.

[@sarahclaireclaire7586]

I read also that to find another authentic eye was impossible...🤔🤔

[@faunacat-ua]

По первому взгляду даже неопытный зритель сразу определит, что перед ним - царственная особа. Эта женщина привыкла повелевать и приказывать. Вместе с тем, она была мила и очаровательна со своими родственниками и друзьями. Ее легко представить в элегантной одежде царицы. Художники и скульпторы той эпохи создавали истинные шедевры. Жаль, что не сохранились их имена. В каких школах они обучались высоким искусствам, кто их обучал? Каким образом создавались гигантские скульптуры фараонов? Кто производил установку? Как с помощью молотка и зубила мастера выпиливали целые многотонные блоки камня? Никто не скажет...

[@sylvieverreault4874]

If the German authorities dared to threaten the French specialist in order to silence him and stop his research, there can be no doubt that the German analytical laboratories were asked to confirm that the composition of the plaster and pigments was consistent with those used in Nefertiti's time, and that they too were threatened.

[@akra8925]

j'ai bien rigolé quand j'ai vu la taille du morceau de plâtre prélevé pour faire les analyses des pigments 😂 il on t pris quasiment une brique !!! c'est censé être un chef d'ouvre et eux on tapé dedans comme dans un jambon !🤣🤣🤣 bref c'est un fake.....

[@Misseria]

Scientists have accurately carbon dated the black paint used in Nefertiti's eyes, which was mix of soot and bees wax, both components being organic. The date overlaps Nefertiti’s time period, again proving the authenticity of the bust. Conveniently the journalists didn't mention that Borchardt found this colour in the workshop, only red and light ochre, blue and yellow.

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

And there we go. I was wondering how far down I would have to scroll before some one would point out that the binder for the paint or the eye glue could not have been faked and that is carbon datable. Now we have an answer. This bust just got perfectly lucky and was buried quickly and didn't suffer a nasty fall before it was covered. Makes you wonder how many masterpieces are still out there in the sands or lost to time in Egypt with this bust and the amazing works found in the tomb of Tutankhamun being as remarkable as they are.

[@peterc.1419]

@@KnightsWithoutATable Either way, time for the Germans to return it to Egypt. They took it out illegally. If people want to see it, they can see it in Egypt and thus benefit that society. They need to money to preserve other relics. The Germans have a way of not returning looted and stolen property, even looking here at stuff they took in WW2.

[@sazure2]

Indeed radio carbon dating! Borchardt essebtually STOLE the item as well! (it went through a "journey" sometimes in Secret and it's amazing it survived at all!) WWII (Hitler raided and looted these museums) and she was moved to a "bunker in Berlin"!!! Found by the American Army (given to the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives branch) (many other travels until her final resting place) (I was in NYC when many Egyptian artifacts were on display ie loan) Stunning!

[@Alex-cw3rz]

It proves the authenticity of the eye not the bust. Those eyes are not common but are often found and any good forger will add in real bits. The selective damage proves it a fake the damage to the crown would have to have knocked the nose off as well but the nose is pristine.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

​@@KnightsWithoutATableno it means the eye is genuine not the bust.

[@Gwaithmir]

During the early 1980's, I bought a restored copy of Nefertiti's bust for my mother's birthday. She loved it. It's 2/3 the size of the original.

[@valkyriesardo278]

I grew up with a bust of Nefertiti on the family book shelves. It was plaster with a dark bronze finish. Mom was a history buff, Ancient Egypt and the Third Reich. I was thrilled when the Tutankhamun treasures were exhibited in Chicago. They are breathtaking viewed in person.

[@ar9k9]

Just how big WAS her bust?

[@eleanorchapple8772]

I don’t care who made this amazing bust. It is beyond beautiful.

[@cdfdesantis699]

A collection of artifacts from Ramses II's reign was on display in our local museum once, & some of the pieces looked brand-new, rather than 1000's of yrs. old. There's no reason to think that this exquisite bust wouldn't be as well preserved.

[@HorizonsleatherBlogspot2012]

Ramses II was notorious for carving his name into everything. And this is how much of what's dated in Egypt exists, by simply attributing the name that is sometimes just scratched into the object.

[@cdfdesantis699]

@@HorizonsleatherBlogspot2012 True, friend, yet the artifacts on display WERE 1000's of years old.

[@chriskarsseboom2200]

There reproductions unless there in Egypt

[@cdfdesantis699]

@@chriskarsseboom2200 The display at our museum was one stop on a worldwide tour of Ramses II-period artifacts from the Cairo museum. BTW, there are many authentic ancient Egyptian artifacts, such as this Nefertiti bust & mummies, in museums & private collections all around the world.

[@Dude0000]

Most artifacts were made to go straight into the tombs, weren’t they? So the fact they seam ‘brand new’ makes complete sense.

[@pchabanowich]

30 years ago, I had the great fortune to see her up close in her old glass case - I even photographed her. It is difficult t I'd seen earthly beauty of this calibre before or since. The sophistication and equanimity of her gaze and presence are unforgettable. Personally, it matters not that it is doubted - whoever created it had tenderness and esoteric knowledge, and was surely kissed by his muse. It is unique to a fault.💐

[@HobbyOrganist]

It is a fantastic work of art, but it definitely does not come close t the more crudely done and very damaged other busts found right along with it, it makes no sense how a bust of her husband the king looked like an amateur student made it, and it was all broken, and the other stuff was rough, damaged, and noses smashed etc but the fact that this one had all it's pigments, fragile nose and thin neck all intact, supposedly laying there 50 cm under gravel for over 3,000 years to me is highly suspicious. I'm also a sculptor and have made models based on photos, I know the processes, so sculpture is not foreign to me, I also know how fragile and soft limestone is- it's composed of many sedementary layers of tiny dead foraminifera which had shells they left behind that became "cemented" into the limestone rock at the bottom of the water, you can see the tiny shells under a magnifying glass. Amateur and student bust sculptors tend to overlook a couple or three important areas on the human face and the face winds up looking rather "flat" with a projecting nose- the areas are the little cavity directly under the nose connecting to the upper lip in the center, the two creases that run from both sides of the nose at an angle towards the corners of the mouth, and the little indentations in the corners of the mouth, the Nefertiti bust is way different than the others, I don't buy the idea it was found where claimed, or that it's 100% genuine and laying there for 3,000 years.

[@PungiFungi]

Yes, even if it is a forgery, it is still a masterpiece in its own right that it held so many people spellbound.

[@funfact8660]

It's obviously original, it was just discovered in a safer spot in the Artist's Studio than Akhenaten's

[@bedstuyrover]

some believe the archaeologist's wife was the muse..so she may very well have kissed him.

[@anniedarkhorse6791]

It does matter. Fraud is Fraud and it's an abuse if Archeology. Yes, it's a beautiful piece of art but that's not the issue, when you are dissecting human history.

[@BeveC21E]

I've never questioned its authenticity, but Always thought it to be the most 'modern' looking, of all the 'found' pieces of Egyptian artifacts. Stately and beautiful!

[@gyllenspetzfamily7993]

Well if the sculpter faked it then it is still accurate to the 2-D depictions of the queen excavated well after the bust was found ...

[@anacletwilliams8315]

I am so glad you never questioned the authenticity of Nefertiti's bust. I can't imagine what a huge problem it would be if you decided to question it.

[@BeveC21E]

@@anacletwilliams8315 I wish you peace and contentment. May it not be always--elusive!😊

[@anacletwilliams8315]

@@BeveC21E Thank you! I wish you peace and prosperity.

[@nabilaabu-hantash8048]

The architecture of hitchibsut temple is hard edged modern The umda ( because he looks like the chief of the village ) small statue is in perfect condition ( in the Louvre )

[@gilmarandrade2628]

Parabéns. Ótimo documentário uma aula de história 👍

[@franciscocarlossantos7868]

Afinal, a quem pertence essa magnífica coleção de objetos egípcios? Como esses objetos chegaram à Alemanha?

[@DeannaSt]

It was so funny when he said that they presented only “black and white” photos 🤣 We know how rudimentary coloured photos were at rhe begining of the 20th centiry and how colour photos took off only after the 70s, what did he expect for 1913 …? A digital photo? 😂

[@jpt3640]

Then where is that Camcorder Timecode from? 😂 Didn't they have camcorders in 1910?😅

[@garylbb]

Actually color photos were used constantly in the late 1940s and were popular from the mid-1950s to the present. Interest and usage of color photos certainly did not become popular "only after the 70s."

[@DeannaSt]

@@garylbb 🙄🙄🙄 We are talking 1013 here! “Renowned as America's pre-eminent black-and-white landscape photographer, Ansel Adams began to photograph in color soon after Kodachrome film was invented in the mid 1930s. Was there color photography in the 1940s? Between 1939 and 1944, a group of photographers working for the government's Farm Security Administration (FSA) and then the Office of War Information (OWI) shot about 1,600 color photos. These photos depict life in rural America and the mobilization efforts for World War II. When did color photography replace black-and-white? Beginning in the 1960s, Kodak's Kodachrome, along with other film brands, had begun to establish a presence in the market, but they were still much more expensive than standard black and white film. By the 1970s, prices were able to decrease enough to make color photography accessible to the masses. When did colored photos become common? 1970s Popularization. It wasn't an immediate ubiquitous switch from black and white to color. The everyday home photographer who used their camera primarily for occasions like birthdays and vacations likely didn't switch to color photography until the 1960s to the 1970s.”

[@ellen4956]

I think Akhenaten's disfigured sculpture was due to the plaster not being set when it was abandoned. The busts were covered in "plaster, of paris"(gypsum plaster) that is set by absorbing water to harden. After that it is difficult to crush it even if it falls. We can't know the circumstances but if they first tried a different clay method in the ovens there, and it failed (the Akhenaten sculpture) the artist might have moved on to Nefertiti's sculpture. The couple were under attack by the priests of Amun, so many of their carved faces and scullptures were defaced. On the other hand, forgery of antiquities was common at the time these were found (or forged). There were two men who forged a lot of art of Knossos, Crete in the early 1900s. With two small pieces of wall frescoe, they invented elaborate scenes, such as the "Prince of Lillies" to keep investors interested. Historians should be able to date an artifact made of plaster of paris. Even if the paint is authentic to the time, it would have absorbed telltale isotopes from the rainfall and sand where they been in the ground. Egypt has monsoons every year, so these would have been subjected to heat and rain for centuries. It's possible for paint and plaster to survive that,. Other artifacts such as those in Pompeii have proven it.

[@kelly5198]

You make very plausible theories..the idea the they have not tested the paint , clay etc for these things is highly suspicious to me.

[@fryertuck6496]

Nonsense, plaster is brittle and breaks easily.

[@jessereichbach588]

@@fryertuck6496 yup, that's why so many statues are missing noses. They are usually the first parts to crack off. The issue is not helped in Egypt as Muslims later went around defacing a lot of art out of superstition.

[@dickmartn]

He was IGIGI, his father is Marduk.

[@ellen4956]

@@fryertuck6496 I'm not here to teach art lessons, but plaster made from gypsum does not break easily. Please look it up for further information.

[@LiberatedAmon]

The reaction to people questioning the authenticity is evidence enough.

[@afrokemet7485]

This Nefertiti is a German manufacture. If you look at the children of Nefertiti for example: they have elongated skulls. Populations with elongated heads still live today in Central and East Africa. This tradition of lengthening the skulls of children during their childhood does not exist either in the Middle East or in Europe. Queen Nefertiti, like her entire family, was a black woman. Shame on the people who made this!

[@maddieb.4282]

Yepppp especially all the people who are CERTAIN it’s authentic but refuse testing and think we should all just let it be lol

[@user-fv5ms4sz8e]

The Nefertiti bust was a completed project. Possibly a surprise present and not a commissioned work. Built at the end of her life and the abandonment of her city. Because it was possibly a surprise gift for the queen and obviously is a completed work, (with paint) it only makes sense that the bust would have been wrapped, to protect it from damage; which is why it was better preserved than the other busts and masks found in the area. Over time, the fragile wrapping would have worn away.

[@robertagardner5461]

If Nefertiti is real or not, she is still beautiful and also a work of art. The artist, whoever he or she was, should be proud to have made such a wonderful object.

[@tessagoode8616]

……i wonder if you think the same if you paid 16 million for a painting tht is beautiful but a fake….

[@Alarix246]

The fact that the beauty stuns so many people is sufficient proof to me that such an artist wasn't alive in the last two hundred years. The sculpture is too exceptional; were it the work of contemporaneous sculptor, he would have made many more similar breathtaking objects and became famous in our time. If it fell later, it could have landed on the sand which could've save the face.

[@jadneves]

"Nefertiti" significa "A Bela chegou"

[@verenamenzel8958]

Nefertiti is beauty in perfection, no matter if she is 3000 or 100 years old. A masterpiece anyway.

[@kevinjamesparr552]

Made in 1912 and sold to German finder whom used it as example of what the site he worked on could be. He did not wish to say it was real until he could say nothing else but it was real

[@robynw6307]

Isn't it strange that 3000 years of wind blown sands did not abrade the surface of the bust more. It does seem suspicious to me.

[@artistjoh]

Two things - it was protected from winds by being behind a wall that would have taken time to disintegrate. And secondly it was buried for most of its time in the ruins. As the wall crumbled, its sandy remains accumulated on the side protected from wind. The bust being on a shelf and then falling is speculation, but if it did, sufficient sandy material had already built up to give a softish landing. The only time when the sculpture experienced any wind would be the period after the roof (probably thatch made from palm leaves) had fallen in, and the wall had decayed sufficiently for the shelf to fall, and the time for sandy material to bury it completely. I am familiar with so-called ghost towns in both the US and Australia. It is surprising how quickly abandoned towns disintegrate, especially if built of ephemeral materials such as adobe block, but even more substantial materials degrade relatively quickly when there are no people performing maintenance. In this case I would expect the burial process for the bust to be as little as five to ten years, and maybe up to twenty. Even if it took 30 to 50 years, it is certainly not 3,000 years of wind blown sands abrading its surface.

[@jamesforbes2205]

If you spent time in Egypt and saw what miracles of preservation routinely come out of the desert and the still vibrant polychrome on the temples of Edfu and Edsa says otherwise. It was buried. In perfectly dry and walled in sand. Paper and textile survive in that desert. It's not anything that miraculous.

[@MadMomma-kj9ks]

Yes sucker bait.....

[@kreuhnkohrman4948]

@robynw6307...?. .would only be suspicious if the bust had been exposed to all kinds of weather. But then the Brits would have discovered the bust before the Germans what is not the case. It could also be suspicious that the documentary is essentially only based on Stierlin's assessment and according to this documentary he is officially quite alone with his opinion...

[@ZYANKALIA]

I heard that the bust is a fake. It was made for promotional purposes and was misunderstood by the nobles as an exhibition piece. To avoid embarrassment the exhibitors left it at that.

[@YanestraAgain]

Nefertiti's bust was indeed really a model, it's made of plaster of paris and was found in a workshop. Her husband's bust was intentionally destroyed after his death, like his buildings were.

[@runesvensson1244]

True. Akhenaton's memory was erased.

[@SnarkierThan-U-R]

Posted the Liar ho failed to cite any credible sources

[@-_YouMayFind_-]

what you write doesn´t make sense. The bust wasn´t found in Paris neither at a workshop.

[@SnarkierThan-U-R]

So? Get Over It @@-_YouMayFind_-

[@juliar1225]

​@@-_YouMayFind_-plaster of paris is the material used and means Gips in German and the head was supposedly found in the ruins of an antic workshop

[@Kvant925]

Test the paint, plaster, or stone. If it did in fact fall because the wall was crumbling, then built up sand could certainly lessen the impact. It looks like I fell backwards because of the chipping at the back and the ears. J’ai trouvé ça très intéressant.

[@josephwalther5979]

I saw her in Berlin 40 years ago. There is only my High School tour group of about 12 people in the room. That alone stunned me. But it is an incredible thing to see. I just wish I got to see Tutankhamun's mask when it traveled the world in the 70s and made it to Chicago.

[@annelbeab8124]

I saw it in Cologne beginning of the 1980s and Neferiti (Nofretete) in Berlin. Travelling to Egypt some 20 yrs later was fulfilling a wish I had held since buying archaeological calendars and dragging to whole family to said exhibition. Having to sketch Egyptian sculptures in art class added to the passion and made seeing some of them like meeting an old acquaintance.

[@evaleyst]

I saw it in Hamburg, Germany, in a large, darkened room, and I had to leave it sooner than intended, I felt a little sick among these artefacts. There seemed to be magic involved or the air condition worked less than magic.

[@therealzilch]

I saw the mask in San Francisco in 1979. I got to stand right in front of it for a good twenty seconds. It was mindblowing.

[@clivepilusa7734]

Its definitely a fake. It was commissioned by the guy who "discovered" it and modelled after his wife. The reason it has to be fake is not the fact that its so astonishingly well preserved, but the fact that it is so different from other depictions of the queen.

[@kermodecarver2103]

I agree. The features are suspiciously European.

[@acaydia2982]

@@kermodecarver2103 European? They would be similar IRL. More like Southern Europeans and other Near Easterners. She doesn’t look Northern European. She looks Mediterranean. Look up “Old Kingdom Egyptian Statues.” Or “Reserve Heads.” They have found cemeteries of hundreds of thousands of people that were buried in sections by there hair color. Blondes were buried together, Gingers all together, and brunette were all together. Which makes me think they were all family members. Hopefully we will get confirmation soon on if they are all family. I know that red hair was seen as divine in Ancient Egypt. I just don’t think it was very common.

[@ilucied]

Excellent work! Thanks a lot.

[@karsten11553]

I never heard about the royal sculptor's unfinished busts before, they are fascinating as a snapshot of an artist's process

[@MissWitchiepoo]

My parents had a fine copy of this buste it was the size as the real one the only thing was that it hadn't been painted so it was just white. They had it when I was born. My grandparents had it for a while because we moved to the US for some years but when I was 17 my grandma gave it to me because I loved it so much. So, I had it for many years till some years ago when my cat decided to sit on it (It was in the window) I told him in a panicked voice to get off and he did and his hind legs were so powerful that they pushed the buste landing it on the floor in several pieces and there was no way to fix it. I was crushed. I have been looking for one ever since but never found one. I was hoping to be able to because my mom told me that they had won it in our old Amusement Park Tivoli so I thought there had to be some out there. That was the story of my Nefertiti:)

[@mm-yt8sf]

now we know there's a guy who works from home that says he could make a copy of anything 😀 it'll probably be pricey though since it'd be a custom job. ohh maybe in the future 3d printing will make all sorts of things possible... wow they sure had much better prizes in the past sounds like, that'd be a cool thing to win! (though maybe not to carry around a park, but maybe if one just took it back to the car and came back to enjoy the park that'd work out fine)

[@michelelyons9410]

I am so very sorry to hear that your bust was destroyed. I know from experience that it can be so devastating when something with sentimental value is destroyed. But I am puzzled when you say you cannot find a replacement. There are literally millions of copies of the Nefertiti bust available everywhere. In any style you want----white, ivory, black, matt finish or shiny, colored, etc. and in any number of sizes. For almost any price. Of course, it is never possible to really replace a cherished item, but you should be able to find something that suits you.

[@kit1628]

The museum makes copies for outrageous prices.

[@dianecernak7130]

It might have been a plaster one that you could finish / paint, how you wanted to. I have one that I painted many years ago.

[@heidibee501]

That was a great story. My cat kept rubbing his face on my big beautiful ceramic tile of a couple standing in front of the Eiffel tower ostensibly kissing. When l came home one day Sunny (my cat) was waiting at the door for me. He meowed loudly and headed to my room. There lay my beautiful broken tile. He meowed again loudly. He never did that. I forgave him and took the time to convince him he meant more than my pic. Even though l loved that tile, I love him more.

[@bastrous9121]

I was given to understand that Zahi Hawass was retiered from Egyptian antiquities for theft of same , miss information and arbitrary restrictions on the exposure of national/ international icons.

[@Earthbound369]

He got hired back.

[@cruisepaige]

He’s Worst thing to happen to antiquities since Elgin

[@shable1436]

​@@cruisepaigewhy say that

[@irisdown9758]

Because he acted like a dictator ask Joanne Fletcher.

[@FreejackVesa]

@@shable1436because he has a perspective of history that he pushes, and by doing so prevents any research that might negate that. I'm sure he hasn't set out to do this specifically, but his actions have only reinforced his historical belief. Now, those beliefs might be correct but they also might not be. He is a controversial figure. Not saying he is a bad person, only that he is controversial in Egyptology circles. Also, he loves the camera which rubs some people the wrong way, also not a crime.

[@kakavdedatakavunuk8516]

Despite everything you said here for me this is the most beautiful piece of art from Egypt yet found

[@hwd7171]

Of course Zahi Hawass has to get his head on camera, you'd think he built Egypt the way this character behaves.

[@acaydia2982]

He does well protecting Egyptian artifacts and their legacy. You should see what the Muslims were doing to ancient artifacts all over MENA. Nauseating to watch them destroy 4k + year old statues with sledgehammers and TNT.

[@jcfra420]

Hawas should know a thing or two about theft, as crooked as he is. But he never misses an opportunity to put his face in front of a camera.

[@josecarlosmasotti7151]

Hawas é agente do GOM (governo oculto do mundo) !!!

[@AikoSilver]

He's crooked?!

[@Purp-cuhz]

Exactly the amount of artifacts in private collections is probably crazy

[@katehenry2718]

If the bust is a copy... he did a really fine artistic job of it. Did he use the paints found in the studio? That would help confirm it as original as the pigments likely couldn't be copied exactly in such a short time. If he had time, he coulda shoulda mighta done one for the pharaoh too. Wouldn't THAT have been a show!

[@StilettoRedhot]

I don't see why they would think it was a fake because the husband's bust was damaged when she was found. You can clearly see that the artwork would have been the same judging by what was left of the husband's bust. Such as the paint on it.

[@joannereiter5331]

As to the archeologist who found it, if he had made notes of the discovery, he probably would never have been able to get it out of Egypt.

[@maddieb.4282]

Obviously not because tens of thousands of artifacts were easily taken out of the country and ended up making their way to not only museums around the world but also to artists’ palettes and dinner tables 😂

[@maddieb.4282]

1912 is not 2024 lol

[@denispol79]

My older sister went to art school. She made a very good copy of the bust of Nefertiti for our room. When I saw it I. being a typical broter, just mocked her that it looks alright, but the neck is too long. So she showed me the photo of the original, at it had even a smidge longer neck.

[@Black_unity597]

It’s fake!

[@NimrodTargaryen]

What do you think of it now? An artist has license to offer us his or her vision...

[@michaeladove7269]

@@Black_unity597 Yes she was black.

[@giovannimoriggi5833]

That bust has not strictly realistic human shape, they did proof that. Art non only copy perfect forms, art also invents them

[@momkatmax]

I love it! Thanks to all brothers!

[@aaron6178]

The biggest issue for me is its inconsistency with contemporaneous busts. Stylistically it's an anomaly and is more reminiscent of late Victorian romanticism. It's a bit sus.

[@timhazeltine3256]

Not really. Its materials, stylistic motifs, and coloration are consistent with the more idealized style of the late Amarna period. What makes the sculpture unusual is its exemplary state of preservation.

[@therewdy4038]

And the modern day make up style!

[@Gloria-ro4vn]

@@timhazeltine3256 Ahh, no it's not. LMAO It's not the first time a museum or a "archaeologist has tried to pass off a forgery. Besides, the Egyptians HATED Nefertiti and her husband, they destroyed every likeness they could find and crossed out their names wherever they found it.

[@josephpetrino1741]

Early 1900s fake. And a poor one.

[@waynemyers2469]

@@therewdy4038 I's the other way around, modern make-up styles came directly from the make-up of the Egyptians and other ancient peoples. this is confirmed by a glance at the depictions of women in other examples of Egyptian art, statuary, cartouches, etc.

[@maddieb.4282]

After watching less than half of this I have major doubts. The people saying it’s “obviously” authentic with zero proof or tests are pretty infuriating especially since the origin story is a bit suspect

[@mrdan2898]

How is it possible that only one bust that was not hidden in a crypt, was found in such perfect condition!? Also no other bust at the same dig site was in a similar condition? I do think that the German archaeologists did in fact know how to fake the authenticity.

[@diorzizi7763]

The Germans should have created one based on their history if they were serious enough

[@sazure2]

Radiocarbon dating can be done. And many sculptures were altered (even I doing sculpture in MODERN times do so.) Sculpture. And they would enhance her "looks" to what the "Priest" at the time deemed "appropriate". This bust underwent CT scans in 1992 and was prover authentic. (which also showed layers underneath - limestone core, stucco outerlayer so on. Then another scan in 2006. More details shows up. These KZbin videos are not the REAMS of archilogical records found in various museums. Who knows. Borchardt first broke the "rules" of "division of architectural finds" at the time under Egyptt in 1913. Under Hitler many ancient finds were raided ie stolen. The scholars so on at the time dictated all AND these crypts were of the correct humidity, dryness so on. I lived in NYC and have seen amazing artifacts from ancient times. Preservation is amazing - some not so.

[@MadMomma-kj9ks]

Go to 15:16 look at those stone walls reduced to dust... Now how tell does a plaster bust survive almost like new missing an ear.....not even needing a paint job? Something is very suspicious dont you think? Or do you?

[@m_lies]

Even this dokumentary is just dumbbecause they say this= 1. The composition of paste to sculpture it, is 1:1 the same as it was common in that region and in that specific Time period. And The people digging it out would have never been able to recreate the Paste composition, as they didn't have had any analytical tools like in the recent modern era to know what it's made of. So they conclude that there was still 3000 year old paste laying somewhere around, which they then used to fake the sculpture??? - My question how was that paste still in such an perfect form, that they wrere able to reactivate it with watter, without any debree and sand in the paste? If they had facked it, the paste woud not have been smooth, but full of imperfections and very brittle, and how where they able to cure it so fast that visiters woud not notice that its a fresh paste? 2. The colors used, and their composition is 1:1 the same as it was common in that region and in that specific Time period. And The people digging it out would have never been able to recreate the color composition, as at that time period they had no such tools to test them and fake it. So they conclude that there was still 3000 year old Colors laying somewhere around in that workshop area, which they then used to fake the color of the sculpture??? - my question how was that color still in such a perfect form, that they were able to reactivate it with water, without any sand ever mixing into it, which would have ruined the color when putting it on a surface? The sand would be embedded in the color surface, and it would be very noticeable… Also, it's not like the 40s anymore where people were able to fake age paintings, because now we can analyze everything, like they did with this statues color... This is also the reason since the late 80’s there are rarely attempts to make fakes as nearly all are found out...

[@MadMomma-kj9ks]

Paint by numbers......@@m_lies

[@thomasradtke3282]

I've seen her in Berlin, it is a breathtakening work. Back then, we still could take pictures, tho without flash (some ignored this or didn't know how their cameras work, so it's now forbidden). But no need to look at those pictures, you cannot forget her beauty once seen.

[@irisdown9758]

Amarna continued in existence after the death of Akhenaten. He was followed by a female Pharaoh called Neferneferuaten who some Egyptologists believe was Nefertiti. As Thutmose court workshop would have continued so maybe this bust was made when Nefertiti was Pharaoh? Or too many maybes!

[@trinidadapodaca7027]

the amun priest were out to destroy anything related to ank. nef and tut couz of their allegence to aton the new god.

[@dickmartn]

Nefertiti was Anunnaki/human...Thus the elongated skull.

[@MorrisonLee-wt2jp]

There is also a second bust (of the same proportions) of an older woman with Nef's features. It could be her after Akhenaten's departure. BTW have you come across Oedipus and Akhenaten by Velikovsky? He put this idea forward?

[@jamesforbes2205]

Yes not for long. 8 years?

[@taniaguimaraes9387]

❤❤❤❤ maravilhoso documentário!

[@neonsashimidream1075]

They talk about the bust of Akhenaten being disfigured (specifically using that word) while indicating that it's "mysterious" that the Nefertiti bust was found near it in such good condition... they even mention the fact that subsequent rulers tried to erase Akhenaten from history, but choose to leave out the well-known and obvious detail that it was common practice to intentionally disfigure the busts or statues of previous or defeated rulers. I imagine that it will be a "big reveal" towards the end. It never ceases to amaze me just how little respect the creators of these programs have for the intelligence of their audience. You know, it's been proven that if you treat a person as intelligent, they will prove to be intelligent and even tap into more of their intellectual potential, but if everyone treats a person like an idiot, before long, that person will start to behave like an idiot.

[@maddieb.4282]

Not everyone has the “common knowledge” that you got from a privileged well rounded education. You’re essentially saying that if someone doesn’t know the basics of ancient Egyptian politics then they’re stupid. Please calm down and actually go read books and academic papers if you’re so pissed off at being talked down to. No duh you’re going to feel talked down to if you feel like you’re an expert, this is a KZbin video for a general audience

[@williambunting803]

The argument about the bust falling on its face after the shelf rotted with time, ignores the probability that an abandoned dwelling in a desert is certain to have the floors be sand covered especially around the walls. The eye could well have been forced out in such a fall from “hydraulic” pressure.

[@queenmermaid4935]

Why wasn’t the eye replaced I wonder🤨

[@kristiehewlett]

I saw this in Berlin 55 years ago. I remember how pale the finish was. Not warm and rich colors as on this video.

[@kittymervine6115]

I do remember reading Thomas Hoving writing about how he would suspect fake when the things that make an item beautiful, are perfect. The ears being a bit battered are fine, gives it some age but that nose, chin, mouth keep it very beautiful. Fakes never have their nose destroyed. If that nose was missing or the chin gone, that would almost be 100% proof it was real. But if you are faking, you want a fake that will sell.

[@afrokemet7485]

You are fully right! This Nefertiti is a German manufacture. If you look at the children of Nefertiti for example: they have elongated skulls. Populations with elongated heads still live today in Central and East Africa. This tradition of lengthening the skulls of children during their childhood does not exist either in the Middle East or in Europe. Queen Nefertiti, like her entire family, was a black woman. Shame on the people who made this!

[@BiboNassim]

Akhenaten was hated by the priest caste. He wanted to change Egypt to monotheism. This meant a huge financial hit to the priests who catered to the multiplicity of deities. When he died, the whole society tried to eradicated all traces of his rule. His new capital was abandoned. All his monuments were defaced. Often the face of Nefertiti was also defaced. Akhenaten was a revolutionary in many ways. The pictures of him and his queen are quite different from anything else of the same epoch. Doubtless, the bust of Nefertiti was a produce of this same revolutionary period. I don't subscribe to the hypothesis that this statue fell on to the floor. The nearby statue of Akhenaten was defaced. I suspect that the person who defaced this statue hid the bust of Nefertiti under the debris. It is not uncommon for people to hide treasures in the hope that they may retrieve them some time in the future - when the political pendulum has swung. There are other works by the same artist in this location that bear a resemblance to the style of the bust of Nefertiti.

[@momkatmax]

My idea is they may have simply not noticed her bust, so focused on eradicating his memory.

[@americomoraes1498]

Es un poco raro el argumento de que el busto de Akenaton está muy deteriorado, el de Nefertiti es falso. Con ese criterio, La Mona Lisa no es de Leonardo porque La Última Cena está muy deteriorada.

[@micheledix2616]

But the Mona Lisa and the Last supper were not found in the same environment at the same time. That is the difference

[@sarahclaireclaire7586]

Did you not see the difference in the artefacts ❓️❓️

[@vansan2120]

​@@micheledix2616in any earthquake some artifacts within a house can be totally destroyed and others remain intact. It's a desert, just as many Egyptian tombs were found.

[@microlatinamicrocontrol1240]

Es cierto eso, pero objetivamente coincido en que tiene rasgos y un estilo de expresión artística que a primera vista no parece coincidir con la época de Nefertiti. A mi particularmente me sorprende esa impronta de "top model" exótica que difícilmente haya visto en ninguna otra obra egipcia. Hay un misterio profundo entre tanta mentira en esta historia. Será por eso que la hace tan atractiva. Yo me hubiera enamorado perdidamente de una mujer así. Me hubiera dedicado a mirarla en silencio por largas horas. Saludos desde Buenos Aires, Argentina. ---- That is true, but objectively I agree that it has features and a style of artistic expression that at first glance does not seem to coincide with the time of Nefertiti. I am particularly surprised by that exotic "top model" imprint that I have hardly seen in any other Egyptian work. There is a deep mystery among so many lies in this story. That may be why it makes her so attractive. I would have fallen madly in love with a woman like that. I would have dedicated myself to looking at her in silence for long hours. Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

[@jessereichbach588]

@@microlatinamicrocontrol1240 There are thousands of women who look like that all over the planet. Just go to Brazil. But I'm sure they have them in Argentina too. Definitely in the US, Canada, Germany, Egypt, Israel, Ethiopia......... At least in terms of factual structure and everything. And in many different tones!

[@rickadrian2675]

It is interesting that the Egyptians want the bust back. We have similar issues here in Australia where items were collected and preserved in museums, now the indigenous descendants want it all back. If it were not preserved by others it would have been completely lost.

[@chris10hi]

Ancient Egypt belongs to humanity, that is people that can preserve them the best should hold them, then if someone else can preserve it better, they should hold it. It belongs to humanity.

[@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095]

01:33 LOL! That French magazine looked like it said: Nefertiti - *BUSTED!* {o:O::}

[@americanpaisareturns9051]

I’ve heard all kinds of things about the bust. That it’s a fake. That it’s not her but someone else. The whole thing is a scandalous attraction.

[@nicollevallet4070]

Très intéressant !!!!!! Une vraie enquête policière aux réponses forcément controversées par tous. Pas évident plusieurs années après de savoir. Le mystère risque de durer

[@TheMarman57]

To Awuma. You make a good point. After the passing of so much time in human terms, there is always some degree of conjecture in trying to connect the dots. Even with the added advantage of DNA analysis. I have also read that the many titles of authority in the names ascribed to Tuya suggest he may actually have been Joseph, Pharaohs great seer, and he of the coat of many colours story.

[@toddsmith6766]

I find the statement "a horrible act of vandalism"hilarious comming from tomb robbers with phds

[@juliarman]

The referral to vandalism is about how the digging was done.

[@jessereichbach588]

Um you mean the people who protect these human artifacts and ensure their safety? Tomb robbing? Really? Do you know where 90% of these artifacts would be right now if it weren't for these "tomb robbers with PHDs"? Lost to time, destroyed, sitting in a junk pile in some real tomb robbers abode etc... Just in the last 15 years, tens of thousands of irreplaceable artifacts have been destroyed in Syria and Iraq. Some significant items were returned to Syria when it was thought stable. And more were uncovered by archaeologists who worked with the Syrian establishment, when they were stable. And then one day, they weren't stable. And literally, tens of thousands of items are now missing or destroyed. And this is common in unstable countries and regions. WHY in the world would anyone leave them to that fate? They don't "belong" to anyone. Egypt the nation, did not exist when these were created. And Egyptian heritage is part of the heritage of ALL "Western" culture, meaning Western Afro-Eurasian culture, everything west of the Himalayas, from India and the Stans to Morocco and Iceland. But especially Mediterranean and related cultures. Do you know why half the ancient murals in Egypt have their faces rubbed off? Not because of aging or time. Because superstitious Muslims, over the last 1300 years went around defacing them, intentionally. There were hundreds of thousands of artifacts destroyed just in the first 200 years of Islamic expansion. And then in the war between Christiany and Islam that would rage for 1000+ years, countless other artifacts were lost if they went against the particular theological and ahistorical narratives that say Crusaders and radical Islam push. These "tomb robbers" have protected these items. And there is absolutely ZERO reason to return them. Especially, when in many cases their safety can not be assured by the nations and institutions demanding them returned. Do you seriously think like DR of Congo or Iran are capable and trustworthy enough to protect all artifacts, with NO bias? That they are stable enough? Egypt wasn't stable for most of the 20th century. Do you know HOW many of these ancient Egyptian artifacts would be losst to us, just since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, if they had remained in Egypt? It's not even debateable. These things belong to all humanity. And they belong whereever they can be kept safe, and made available for the public and researchers to view whenever they want. Anyway, no institution has hoarded a bigger stash than the Vatican. Their basements contain more artifacts than the entire Smithsonian, and probably most European Museums combined. The issue with the Vatican isn't that they have these things, it's that they refuse to disclose and display them. In some cases they have culturally significant items that should be considered being returned IF the country of origin is equipped to protect them. But these museums are absolutely vital in antiquities. And they do the right thing by them. By protecting them, and making them available for all humans, and researchers. The Vatican is doing things the wrong way. These museums are doing things the right way.

[@pamburt]

@@jessereichbach588Very well said👍🏻It’s a bit wearying reading the usual comments on these kind of videos, usually from the ignorant, demanding that X or Y artefact be returned to its country of origin. Usually it’s the British Museum that gets most of the criticism. But you are absolutely correct that if it weren’t for these antiquities being “looted” or “robbed” and then placed in the care of Western museums, they would most likely not exist at all, or be in a much worse state of preservation. The Elgin Marbles is one such example. Those would’ve ended up in a pile of rubble instead of being treasured and looked after by the British Museum.

[@libelle8124]

I remember when the King Tut exhibition was on a world trip. Some time in the 1980s it was in Hamburg, Germany, and there you could buy replicas of Queen Nefertiti for 1800 Deutsche Mark. They looked like the real thing. Having said that.. who knows which one is real. As for Hawass, he is always very mouthy about his beloved ancient Egypt. So why doesn't he save what is left of that temple in the area where the steal the rose granite? If he did that, I could take him serious, but the way he is behaving, he reminds me of an epileptic Rumplestiltskin.

[@KF-qj2rn]

the king tut tour in the 70s was really amazing, it came to seattle

[@alina9843]

33:12 "was this the world's first facelift?" I can't 😭😭😭

[@tarrahbarker24]

I've always believed this was fake. The face eyes and facial structures doesn't match the people. Not counting the pace he claimed he found it doesn't make sense because it would have been scratched with dull colors

[@lyndaniel3369]

I have only seen color photographs in art books, but one thing always amazed me. Whereas many friezes show Akhenaton and Nefertiti, the most distinctive facial characteristic was their chins, which resembled each other. I knew the royal family often married brother to sister to keep the bloodline pure, hence one would suspect a close physical resemblance, but I do not know their family history. It would be interesting to know if they were closely related. There is no doubt, however, that this sculpture shows a most beautiful lady!

[@awuma]

While DNA analysis appears to show that the remains (Akhenaten?) in KV55 and the Younger Lady (Nefertiti? Kiya?) are siblings and that Tutankhamun is their son, the possible consanguinity I note earlier could mimic a sibling relationship. There is no record of any sort to suggest that Nefertiti was the daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiy, but there is attestation that Ay's wife (and later queen) Tey was Nefertiti's wet nurse. I suggest that Nefertiti's mother may have been an earlier wife of Ay.

[@twtwtw1]

as one commenter said,"But suspicions are not proof." amen

[@mikethespike7579]

I've taken a close look at this bust a few times when it used to stand in a museum for Egyptology just down the road from where I live in Berlin. At the time it stood on a low pedestal so I could look at it directly "eye to eye". I'm not saying that it's a fake, I'm no expert, but I've always found its condition suspiciously well preserved considering what ancient statues normally look like. I've worked with plaster of Paris and found it to be quite a delicate material that also deteriorates easily in moist conditions. I suppose though the ground where the bust was found will have been perfectly dry, so that might be an explanation for the good condition.

[@od1452]

When I saw the statue in Berlin some years ago, I was stunned at her beauty. It did occur to me she could be a clever fake. The missing eye insert and the broken ears would be the way a smart artist would chose to "Antique '" a fake. But suspicions are not proof. You can see in the Borchart/Royal photo that the sculpture is missing the obsidian eye and has broken ears. If it was a "test" sculpture... why would that be ? The eye insert would be a good deal of work but the ears wouldn't need to be damaged. So it seems likely that the Frenchman's claim is wrong..... Borchart may have been worried that the more people see the sculpture , the harder it would the get it out of Egypt. He did that with what looks like a bit of trickery... would he go through so much trouble for a test or fake that he could buy without problems.? It is in the style of so many head sculptures , and like one of her sister's heads they are beautiful. They did carve in the eye and sometimes the eyebrows for inserts . We know they painted their sculptures too. It looks like an official portrait that artists would use to make official images for the state. ( Like for Elizabeth 1 used cartoons (stencils) for her official portraits. ) Many 2 dimensional images of Nefertiti are easy to recognize because we know what she looked like from this and at other sculptures. So I don't know if it is real but I lean more to it being real as the stories that its not do not convince me. While I agree its existence sounds too good to be true .... maybe it is.

[@bobbybrooks4826]

Left eye of Horus brusued busted Out.. masonic LIE.. it's totally BullshAt

[@jamesforbes2205]

The ears are the most delicate and easily broken part. They go first.

[@od1452]

That is just what a faker would want you to think. I don't know if it is a fake. But no other image that far finished was found there. It is in the correct style and materials.....so everyone has to pick their battle .. @@jamesforbes2205

[@johnhorne9977]

@jamesforbes2205 Hasn't the official narrative, for delicate sculpted structures, identified the nose as the most delicate? After all, no one has given an adequate explanation for the reason for the multitude of "denosed" statutes. No reason better than, having just recently watched comrades die at the hands of Haitian Blacks, as well as the humiliation of losing, the soldiers of Napoleon took their frustration and anger out on statutes' noses. A feat easily done with a musket butt. My favorite reason as to why it is so pristine is that it so brilliantly fortifies the fantasy that the Kemetu resembled this work of fiction. Simply put, this thing is too white to be real.

[@od1452]

My thought on the nose destruction is it from People offended by images that they think are anti religious... we saw this in Iraq not long ago. We forget that these relics have been around for thousands of years.. I'm not accusing anyone in particular it just is a general statement. @@johnhorne9977

[@TheMarman57]

This documentary seems to have skirted around the story captured in the so-called Amarna letters, of the offering by King Tushratta who ruled a West Asian Kingdom called Mittani of two young princesses - Taduchepa, and Giluchepa to become wives and or concubines to the future rulers of Egypt Amenophis III and Amenophis IV in return for gold which King Tushratta would use to finance the considerable building projects he had planned. Taduchepa is recorded in the Amarna documents as having married Amenophis III. Many leading Egyptologists agreed that Taduchepa having taken citizenship of Egypt (Khemet, as it was called in Pharaonic times) had her name changed from Taduchepa to Nefertiti - in reality probably something more like "Nafteta". Shame it doesn't mention this aspect because it's an important part of the search for her true identity .

[@awuma]

There may be something in the Hittite connection, especially given the post-Tutankhamun Zannanza affair. However, the most frequently cited hypothesis I have run across is that Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay, who in turn is proposed to be the son of Yuya and Tuyu, grandparents of Akhenaten and in my view the key couple of the later 18th Dynasty. Not only were Yuya and Tuyu parents of Queen Tiy, but Yuya MAY have been the brother of Mutemwiya, mother of Akhenaten's father Amenhotep III. This complicated consanguinity could be compatible with the DNA analyses of Tut, mummy from KV55 (Akenaten?) and the Younger Lady (Nefertiti?).

[@Chris.Davies]

Just a small reminder about conspiracies, and the truth about them, stated by Benjamin Franklin; "THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET, BUT ONLY IF TWO ARE DEAD."

[@SnarkierThan-U-R]

Nefertiti: World's FIRST Supermodel

[@juliarman]

It would be a riot to put Zahi Hawass and Henri Stierlin in a room and have them discuss Nefertiti's authenticity.

[@ryanmassey586]

With boxing gloves....

[@bedstuyrover]

but Stierlin is educated!

[@tyto5146]

I love the "best ambassador that Egypt has ever *sent* to Germany" and then immediately shows Egypt saying that they want their stollen stuff back

[@Taharqo.saved.the.Hebrew]

Tell the Arabs the Africans want Egypt back

[@bunzeebear2973]

In the Early years Egypt had nothing better than a wooden warehouse to store the stuff. Their museum was out in the desert. Now, Egypt has a modern museum with Temp. control & Humidity control and laboratories & X-ray & "2 Cat Scanners other non intrusive methods to scan a Mummy and scads of Egyptologists. It is a 4 story museum and they NEED more room. Some of it still sits in storage unexamined since Carter found King Tut. There is THAT MUCH STUFF. And it is a public museum too. Everything is a treasure as it is a piece to a puzzle of the early days. . My dad had a chance to go to Egypt before he died hoping to see that stuff in person. He was dismayed to find that much were in other museums in OTHER countries.[Germany, Poland, France, England, Italy, the U.S. and in private collections too= no one saw it] or the pieces were on tour. It would cost more money to chase after something that has been dead 3000yrs. Fortunately, the pyramids were still there(now was a bad time to find out he is "claustrophobic" as everything is in the ground or in a cave.) Most stuff was "off Limits" because of people breathing emit moisture which is detrimental to stuff that has remained moisture-less for thousands of years I have probably seen more than he has because of the Internet. No, I never rode a camel nor did I float on the Nile River or meet the people.(so this was before Covid 19) Right now is a bad time to go because of the unrest in Russia/Ukraine so you learn never tease a lion or puddy-tat.

[@Boudanyoussefraqs]

@@Taharqo.saved.the.Hebrew😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@calibos3329]

Still can come to grips that Egypt wasn't built by black Africans, I see.

[@robbannstrom]

Stollen is nice at Christmas time.

[@darbyc1936]

It’s amazing how one can come up with such stories from pictures that have no text and are not depicting such narratives. Believing everything that is said is very dangerous and leaves one vulnerable to believing everything no matter what is said.

[@dianafurtado3850]

Excelente conteúdo!

[@Tore_Lund]

It shouldn't be an argument. Spectroscopy of pigment and if there possibly is any wood in it, it should be easy to determine its age. I have never seen Ancient Egyptian paint survive like this on any other artifact. Edit: The docu do answer some of my questions.

[@stef75017]

Vrai ou faux cela reste une œuvre admirable. Quelle incroyable élégance! Quelle délicatesse!

[@jamesmiller4184]

Oui!

[@jean3xyz]

Vous avez dit au début que si on regardait toute la vidéo qu’on changerait d’idée! Je l’ai tout écouter et jamais je n’ai changé d’idée!

[@m_lies]

So in short: 1. The composition of paste to sculpture it, is 1:1 the same as it was common in that region and in that specific Time period. And The people digging it out would have never been able to recreate the Paste composition, as they didn't have had any analytical tools like in the recent modern era to know what it's made of. So they conclude that there was still 3000 year old paste laying somewhere around, which they then used to fake the sculpture??? - My question how was that paste still in such an perfect form, that they wrere able to reactivate it with watter, without any debree and sand in the paste? If they had facked it, the paste woud not have been smooth, but full of imperfections and very brittle, and how where they able to cure it so fast that visiters woud not notice that its a fresh paste? 2. The colors used, and their composition is 1:1 the same as it was common in that region and in that specific Time period. And The people digging it out would have never been able to recreate the color composition, as at that time period they had no such tools to test them and fake it. So they conclude that there was still 3000 year old Colors laying somewhere around in that workshop area, which they then used to fake the color of the sculpture??? - my question how was that color still in such a perfect form, that they were able to reactivate it with water, without any sand ever mixing into it, which would have ruined the color when putting it on a surface? The sand would be embedded in the color surface, and it would be very noticeable… Also, it's not like the 40s anymore where people were able to fake age paintings, because now we can analyze everything, like they did with this statues color... This is also the reason since the late 80’s there are rarely attempts to make fakes as nearly all are found out...

[@jeffgray4075]

The bust has a very 19th century quality to it. The likeness is quite different than any other of her. The features don't comport with those other representations of her.

[@kevinfisher1345]

You do realize they have found many other (often unfinished) in various locations patterned off of this exact bust and done by many ancient artist sculpters right? As well as they found many incompleted from this same site. So not sure where you get this 'very 19th century quality' from. The only thing it differs from is relief carvings which are typically lower quality due to being more quickly made. Now this does not prove or disprove. But he would have had to have one of those from another artist in his possession, or based it on one of the incomplete carvings and guessed correctly the finishing details.

[@jamesforbes2205]

Oh good lord. Find out where you get that idea from, from what art in particular and then meet Egyptian revival one two and three.

[@kingabstract2695]

Yep the statue is definitely a fake.

[@00vTv00]

Saw a film many years ago, the "experts" were Egyptian archivists, they literally destroyed the delicate clay covering of the mask, which crumbled in their clumsy hands, and underneath looked just like the destroyed bust shown in this video which was the under support for the slip molded clay mask attached to it.

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

I don't know if the ancient Egyptians ever used clay for the outside of a sculpture, but it's definitely not what we're talking about with this famous bust--so what are you on about? You don't name the film, date it, or even give reason to believe it wasn't fiction.

[@marcom2248]

That was and is the most beautiful man made piece of art, I have ever seen with my own eyes.

[@xornxenophon3652]

One would imagine that the paint on the statue could be analyzed chemically to find out how old that paint is?!

[@borisgodunov7165]

Если нашелся тот, кто сумел создать такую "подделку", то это гений. Такой гений не смог бы оставаться в тени, и, как минимум должен был бы создавать и другие произведения. Но, высота искусства в этом произведении недосягаема, что свойственно подлинникам, и, это несомненно. Относительно бюста из Берлина, для меня нет никакого значения, подлинник это или копия, или отреставрированный экспонат - я вижу проявление высочайшего искусства и этого достаточно.

[@peterschmidt5847]

Die Pieta im Vatikan ist auch ein Wunderschönes Kunstwerk von Michelangelo das ich persönlich sehr viel höher bewerten würde vom Schwierigkeitsgrad. Die Nofretete Büste wird viel zu hoch bewertet, natürlich auch ein wunderschönes Stück aber viel leichter herzustellen!

[@AlternativPerspectiv]

Amazing that thieves can actually say "Here's the stuff we stole.. looks nice doesn't it?"... simply, AMAZING

[@customsongmaker]

200 years ago, nobody in the world could read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. I'm glad Europeans showed up to study and preserve what had been lost for thousands of years.

[@AlternativPerspectiv]

1 good deed does not justify theft. It's like i come into your home and clean it spotless, but then I steal your title deeds. Would you say "At least he shined the floor"?@@customsongmaker

[@customsongmaker]

@@AlternativPerspectiv I wouldn't say that if I had been dead for 4,000 years and other people had already taken most of my things

[@AlternativPerspectiv]

Glad you have 1st-hand experience of your forefathers' bones being carried off by thieves and another nation making millions off showing them off @@customsongmaker

[@bejbimama6689]

Many artefacts survived thanks to the Europeans who took them and preserved them. For example, the Pyramids of Giza were almost destroyed by local people who took the stones to build houses. Most of the artefacts were preserved THANKS to scientists from Europe, because the Egyptians did not realise their value. Now they are proud of this and call it theft but in fact many of these objects were sold off by Egyptian officials.

[@Cat_Woods]

It really bothers me when people who are supposed to be guarding science and art instead meddle with people trying to find out truth. That's more glaring to me than the question of whether the bust is authentic. I hope it can be resolved scientifically at some point, but meanwhile the curators and government and whoever else got involved to suppress mention of the story have already shown their corruption.

[@franciscogomessilva2917]

Uma grande contribuição para a posteridade ter uma remota e pálida ideia da beleza, sutileza e elelegância, inimagináveis... Verdadeira ou falsa, indubitavelmente, luma incomparável obra de arte...

[@thomaskosinar4923]

Just one thought: in such a prominent place like Thutmosis' atelier, how could the following royal expeditions (in order to erase a whole city and especially the memory of a heretic king and his family) possibly overlook such a piece or even gently bury it for the centuries to come? Borchardt‘s shelf theory implicates that this architectural structure would have been put to rest for a long time. That is very implausible, because over the years to come there was literally no stone left unturned, the whole city was systematically dismantled, all royal faces on every relief scratched away to anonymity. Conclusion: The bust is very beautiful, but the chance that it is a real artifact is far too little.

[@jamesforbes2205]

There is sand all over the place in Egypt, and theres all kinds of ways

[@christopherpardell4418]

The archeologists that found it found it buried in a rubbish pit behind what they determined to the sculptor’s studio/workshop. It was buried before the town was razed, they estimate when the order went out to expunge all imagery of Akhenaten. The shattered bust of Akhenaten was found in the same pit. So it escaped damage because it was already safely buried before any of Amarna was destroyed.

[@user-xi1br6ur1q]

Yes, my thoughts exactly, I do not see how, especially if sitting on a shelf in a prominent position, in a place that would have been pretty pristine, (and the city I assume, before it was looted and destroyed by the later pharaoh), that it would have escaped any damage. I think it is a fake, or a copy, as intimated here, made by a man desperate to garner kudos for himself and his country, it is far too perfect no matter how artistically technically brilliant those ancient Egyptians were, to be left in that condition in such shallow ground, and being of such delicate material.

[@mysticone1798]

Agreed. The bust would have had no protection from rain and chemical deterioration being buried just beneath the surface of the ground for 3,000 years! Common sense tells us that it must be a fake. Had it been discovered INSIDE a sealed chamber, as Tutankhamen's treasure was, its perfect condition would be understandable.

[@christopherpardell4418]

@@mysticone1798 That is purest ignorance. LOTS of things excavated under just INCHES of sand in egypt were found with their paint intact. MOST of the temples that have been exposed to the elements for a century or more STILL have paint surviving on the inside of their roofs, where the sun doesn’t shine. And the bust was buried in a deep pit, that had then been covered up by the demolition of the building it was behind, and then that covered up by 5 or 6 FEET of sand. That is as protected as any artifact that that dry climate needs. Oh, and if its such a fake, if there’s no compelling proof its genuine, then WHY would the Egyptian authorities want it back?

[@gregfougere7447]

Just about every museum stole artifacts through the rich debutants who took mummies, statues and gold

[@HobbyOrganist]

And Borchacht or whatever his name was, was given the task of buying artifacts for the museum, and he was known to visit a forger's shop, very easy to consider if the museum gave him say $2000 to spend, and he paid $1000 for a really good forgery, he could present it to the museum for their collection and pocket $1000 cash, it HAS happened before. One forger who sold an "ancient" statue to a museum buried the plaster fake under ground for a few years to make it look old and stained.

[@kirby818]

This is definitely a beautifully and smartly sculpted European Nafatiti😀

[@user-vi8dh7gv3t]

Египтяне активно пользовались эфирными маслами, что подтверждается находками амфор в них и хранили мирру разного рода масла, поэтому могли выглядеть моложе своих лет и ещё в Египте пользовались лунным посевным календарем, а в лунном месяце дней меньше, не 30,а 21 и естественно, что возраст в цифрах получатся больше. Египтяне занимались сельским хозяйством, поэтому и жили по лунному календарю, потом он перешёл в мусульманскую религию.

[@samplerstitcher]

It does look too new to be real....but either way it is a gorgeous thing!

[@hannahbaxter8825]

I agree

[@virgilius7036]

It was not exposed to the deterioration of time because it was buried in the very dry sand of the Armana site! Mummies in perfect condition have been found buried in the desert.

[@user-xi1br6ur1q]

Me too, it is exquisite in its beauty, but I do doubt it is that old. If no one is prepared to test it’s supposed antiquity then I think we can only assume that some people at the museum have their doubts. There must be some test that can be carried out, if there was absolute certainty it was authentic. As to people’s claims about returning artefacts to their country of origin, give it a rest, Europe found them and saved them, without us they’d be lost or looted for a private collection, or worse.