Nefertiti (c. -1380 to -1340), queen of Egypt, was the wife of Akhenaton, the Heretic King who ruled Egypt from about -1352 to -1336. He was probably her cousin or brother. King Tutankhamen was her stepson. Her name means “the beautiful one is come”.
Her power: “Queen” in Ancient Egyptian means just “king’s wife”. Very few ruled in their own right. But given how Nefertiti is shown as a near equal to Akhenaton in pictures, she probably held considerable power. Also, the person who ruled Egypt right before King Tut, from about -1338 to -1336, under the name of Nefernefruaten, may have been her – it was one of her names. But not all scholars agree that it was her.
Her fame: Thomas Jefferson and Abe Lincoln probably never heard of her. But then in +1912 the Bust of Nefertiti (pictured above) was discovered, made when she was alive, now one of the world’s most famous pieces of art. It was found in its workshop still unfinished (thus the left eye). The Germans stole it – it is now in a museum in Berlin. Egypt wants it back.
Amarna Revolution: Egyptian art is famous for showing people in that stiff, eyes-on-the-side-of-the-head sort of way. The bust is nothing like that. That is because of the Amarna Revolution, a cultural revolution led by her husband. It not only overthrew the old gods, like Amun, but also that old, stiff style of art. It allowed her beauty to shine through the ages.
Was she really that beautiful? Egyptian art generally shows kings and queens in an idealized way – how they wish they looked. Photoshop is nothing new. But since her husband during the same period looks deformed, it is probably close to how she looked.
How she lived: Unlike most Egyptians of the time, she had a bathroom mirror and a four-post bed. The palace band played during meals.
- transport: golden chariot, electrum carrying chair.
- ears: two piercings on each.
- colour scheme: white and cobalt blue.
- soap: she used olive oil and natron instead.
- moisturizer: made of sesame seeds and olive oil, perfumed with myrrh or lotus.
- clothing: made of fine linen.
- shoes: sandals with pictures of bound enemies on the bottom.
- weapons: scimitar (to kill prisoners), bow and arrow, throw stick (for hunting birds).
- How to greet her: on your belly, your nose touching the ground.
She was from Thebes, but at her height lived in Amarna, the new capital her husband had built.
The Tomb of Nefertiti: Her body has yet to be discovered. There are some unidentified bodies of royal women from her time. She might be one of them. The Becky Nefertiti reconstruction of +2018 was based on one of them. Her tomb, though, has yet to be discovered. Just like how the reaction against the Amarna Revolution led to tomb robbers forgetting where King Tut was buried, the same could be true for her. That would mean her tomb is untouched, waiting to be discovered in all its glory.
– Abagond, +2018.
Update (2023): Updated to use the dating of “The Princeton Dictionary of Ancient Egypt” (2008) by Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson.
See also:
- Egypt: a brief history
- Ancient Egypt
- Becky Nefertiti
- Beychella
- Lauryn Hill: Everything is Everything – “Bomb graffiti on the Tomb of Nefertiti”
529
Nefertiti looks like she could be Somali:
https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-54bec873b202dea27bee1b31c1f55c43
There have been a lot of Somalis coming to Maine over the past couple of decades, especially to cities like Lewiston and Portland. Many of them work for L.L. Bean. An Illinois-based white supremacist group once held a rally of a few dozen people in Lewiston to protest the newcomers, but 4,500 counter-protesters gathered in support of the local Somali community.
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@ Paige,
You’re not far off. The ancient Egyptians said they originated from a land called Punt (or Pwenet, depending on transliteration), which likely corresponds with what is now Somalia (or the region of east Africa in which Somalia is situated).
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The Nefertiti bust is a fake. I’m glad someone likes Nefertiti because she and Akhenaten were detested during their tenure.
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“The Germans stole it – it is now in a museum in Berlin. Egypt wants it back.”
Nothin’ new there, Brother. European hubris never ceases to amaze me, both here and abroad. Speakin’ of abroad though, here are a couple more stories about Africans wantin’ their sh*t back and Europeans sayin’, “Sure! We’ll LEND it back to you!” {SMMFH}:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/apr/03/looted-ethiopian-treasures-in-uk-return-loan-victoria-albert-museum
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My tech-challenged, old ass has no idea what happened with THAT comment! However, here’s the other link I’d intended to include: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/arts/emmanuel-macron-africa.html
(Apologize for takin’ up all that damned space, Fam!)
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https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/may/07/nefertiti-bust-berlin-egypt-authenticity
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@ Deb
Sometimes the NYT links show up like that, as an image — but if you click on it, the link still works and takes you to the article.
It’s happened here before to me and other commenters, so no need to apologize!
I’m not knowledgeable enough about computers to explain why and how it happens like that.
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@Solitaire…“It’s happened here before to me and other commenters, so no need to apologize!”
Thanx!!
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