Why did Nefertiti become a myth? – 07/04/2023 – Science

With a haughty, unapproachable gaze, Nefertiti seems to look into the distance. Little is known about this woman who lived in ancient Egypt some 3,500 years ago. It is known, yes, that her name means “The beauty has arrived”. But whether she was tall or short, stern, generous or arrogant—all that lies in the darkness of history. There are no eyewitness accounts; no papyrus tells about her life. Only a few reliefs and ancient inscriptions reveal any details about the mysterious Nefertiti.

It is known that she married Amenhotep IV at a young age, probably between the ages of 12 and 15. Amenhotep 4th was the “heretical pharaoh”, who abolished polytheism and started to worship only the sun god Aten, represented as a radiant disc of light. He also changed his name to Akhenaten (“He who serves Aten”), while Nefertiti would have become Neferneferuaten (“Beautiful is the beauty of Aten”).

In Berlin, some more clues about Nefertiti can be found at the Neues Museum, which houses the famous bust on Museum Island. Olivia Zorn, deputy director of the Egyptian collection, says, for example, that the position of “Great Royal Wife” put Nefertiti on an equal footing with her husband. “They formed a triad with the god Aten, that is, a trinity. Aten, Akhenaten and Nefertiti were a kind of governmental unit”, she tells DW.

A new city for the god Aton

Around 1350 BC the ruling couple left the capital Thebes and had a new royal residence built. In a short time, Achet-Aten (“Horizon of Aten”) would appear, a city of 50 thousand inhabitants located in a valley protected by steep cliffs – the plain of Amarna.

Akhenaten also had a temple built to the Sun god in record time, the Gem-pa-Aten (“Aten was found”). With the imposition of monotheism, the ruling couple made powerful enemies. Thousands of priests were unemployed.

Akhenaten would die in the 17th year of his reign. “What happened to Nefertiti, no one knows,” says Zorn. Some believe that, for a time after her husband’s death, she reigned under the name of Semencaré. “But it’s also quite possible that she died before him,” points out the expert.

“The Most Vivid Work of Egyptian Art”

The whole story would only gain more clarity in the next dynasty, under the legendary Tutankhamun. Alongside his advisors, Pharaoh resurrected the old gods. The constructions of Akhenaten in honor of Aton were demolished and used as a quarry. The new capital Akhenaten was also destroyed — and we might never have heard of Nefertiti again had it not been for the German architect and Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt, who traveled to Egypt in the early 20th century looking for the tracks of the mysterious city of Amarna.

On behalf of Emperor Wilhelm II, Borchardt was looking for objects for the royal museums in Berlin. On December 6, 1912, he and his excavation team found the studio of a sculptor believed to have lived in 1300 BC. Numerous busts were found under the rubble, including one with the famous dark blue crown. Except for the lack of the left eye, the figure with protruding ears and outlined eyes drew attention because it was practically intact.

Borchardt was enthusiastic: “We had the most vivid work of Egyptian art in our hands,” he observed. “Queen’s bust painted in life size, 47 cm high. …Excellent work.”

Unmistakable today, Nefertiti’s crown was common in ancient Egypt, as were voluminous wigs. It is believed, moreover, that the queen’s head was shaved, as in addition to being more practical in the face of heavy adornment, this prevented the proliferation of lice. But how did she enhance her beauty? “Makeup, in today’s sense, didn’t exist back then,” explains Olivia Zorn. “But the eyes were made up with this beautiful eyeliner. It also had an antiseptic effect, as it kept away the bacteria that can cause eye infections and blindness.”

Nefertiti in exchange for an altarpiece

Borchardt brought the bust of Nefertiti to Berlin with financial support from the German Society of the East, which had financed his mission in Egypt. According to the regulations in force at the time, all ancient finds were divided equally between Egypt and the country carrying out the excavations. Borchardt, in this case, represented the German Empire.

Gaston Maspero, director of the Antiquities Service, under the aegis of France, instructed his colleague Gustave Lefebvre to regulate the division of the find. In one of the parts was, among other things, the bust of Nefertiti, while the second contained an altarpiece showing the royal couple Akhenaten and Nefertiti with three of their children.

As the Cairo Museum did not have any altarpieces at that time, he opted to do without the bust. Later, Borchardt would be accused of having presented the bust only in dim light so that it would not arouse Lefebvre’s interest.

A modern ideal of beauty

And so the Egyptian beauty traveled to Berlin, where she would only be presented to the public in 1924 – and soon causing a real bang. She graced the cover of magazines and became an advertising icon: not only for cosmetics, perfumes and jewelry, but also for beer, coffee and even cigarettes. Buried in the desert sands for thousands of years, Nefertiti was once again becoming an admired idol—probably as she had been in her lifetime.

“Even in the early 20th century, she lived up to today’s modern ideal of beauty, with high cheekbones and a well-shaped face,” says Zorn. “But whether that was the ideal of beauty nearly 3,500 years ago, we can no longer say for sure,” he adds.

The Mysteries of the Bust of Nefertiti

The polychrome bust is not the only preserved image of Nefertiti. Ancient sculptures show the Egyptian queen hand in hand with Akhenaten in religious ceremonies or in the loving role of mother of six daughters. In addition, other statues were found.

Inside the bust there is a kind of core made of limestone, on which the sculptor modeled Nefertiti’s face. Computed tomography images generated in 2007 revealed that the queen was probably very thin and had very marked wrinkles. “Over it, the artist placed a thin layer of plaster, which then works as a good make-up base and hides imperfections”, explains Zorn.

The fact that the famous bust is missing one eye probably does not mean that Nefertiti was one-eyed. “It’s just a model, used by the artist to create other statues of the queen”, says the expert. “He probably chose not to put one of the eyes in to test different materials,” she conjectures.

The authentic nose problem

To obtain a more accurate reconstruction of Nefertiti’s true face, one would need to have her mummy. “But until now the mummy of Nefertiti has not been clearly identified, despite numerous attempts,” says Zorn, adding that even if it happens one day, there will always be inaccuracies. “Mummies naturally wear out. All that’s left is skin and bones, and the most difficult part of a facial reconstruction is usually the nose.”

Of course there are scientists who can say exactly how much flesh was under that skin, says Zorn. “But I don’t think it’s possible to clearly reconstruct a nose with today’s possibilities.” Nearly 3,500 years after her death, it’s impossible to say what Nefertiti was really like. And that’s exactly why, thanks to her bust, she remains in memory as an out-of-the-ordinary beauty.