Nefertiti display angers archaeologists
Egypt, Local, 6/13/2003

The Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) was flooded with complaints from Egyptian and foreign archaeologists condemning Queen Nefertiti display at Munich Museum. The museum director broke all rules by mounting the bust of Nefertiti on a nude figure in bronze.

SCA Secretary-General Dr Zahi Hawas said that such an act violates international agreements because the exhibit distorts a genuine Egyptian piece that is a source of pride for all Egyptians.

Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni described the display as "crazy and immoral." Hawas said that Minister of Culture submitted a protest to the director of the UNESCO and the German Ambassador to Cairo demanding immediate intervention to save such rare pieces from such frivolity.

Hawas said that mounting the head on bronze shows how Wildung,director of Munich Museum underestimates the value of Egyptian artifacts, adding that the bronze will surely harm the limestone bust.

The piece was smuggled out of Egypt in the l930s after its discovery by the German archaeologist Borchardt in the ruins of an ancient artist's studio on the Nile banks in l912. Smugglers outwitted archaeologists by distorting the features in order to take the bust out of the country.

The bust has been on display at Berlin Museum, which receives thousands of visitors every year. The bust shows life-size features of the beautiful Nefertiti wearing an inverted, truncated cone-shaped headdress. Her serene smile makes her look as if she is about to speak.

Nefertiti was the wife of Akhnaten, the first monotheist in history, who ruled Egypt during Al Amarna Period (l353-l363 BC).

Previous Stories:
  Hawas dismisses Nefertiti's mummy claim by British archaeologist   (6/12/2003)
  Egypt takes legal measures to claim Nefertiti head   (6/12/2003)
  Queen Nefertiti's mummy   (6/10/2003)

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