
The Nefertiti bust is approximately 3,300 years old, and still has an impact on today’s beauty standards and humanity’s concept of perfection. The name Nefertiti, translates to “the beautiful one has come”. She is credited to be the most beautiful woman in the world, therefore becoming an icon of feminine beauty in the ancient world. Queen Nefertiti is the wife of Akhenaten, a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty in Egypt. This royal couple is especially noted for abandoning the traditional polytheistic religion in Ancient Egypt, and introducing the idea of monotheism. After her husband’s death, Nefertiti ruled the New Kingdom alone. Little is known about the origins of the queen, but she is best known for her painted sandstone bust. Through the use of vivid coloration, the sculptor is able to create a global icon for feminine beauty, power, and perfection.

 The sculpture was excavated in 1912, in what had been a workshop of the Egyptian sculptor, Thutmose. Unlike most Egyptian sculptures which are intended for a tomb, Thutmose never intended for this particular sculpture to be viewed or to be placed in the queen’s tomb. He had created the life-size, full color bust as a model that he could use to work on other sculptures of her. Since the bust was so well preserved in Thutmose’s underground workshop, the colors of the bust still were extremely vivid like the artist intended them to be. The intended function of the bust was to pose as a 3D sketch. Historians were made aware of this because she has one eye socket inlaid with temporary material, as the other eye socket is empty and incomplete. Traditionally, sculptures of royal Egyptian leaders have eye sockets that are inlaid with precious stones, like that of the Funerary Mask of Tutankhamen. 

The bust is now located in the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany. The sculpture is given a room of its own and is placed under several spotlights. It is slightly above eye level to present the illusion of a queen looking down at her subjects; the audience is forced to look up at the bust. Since the sculpture is placed by itself, the spotlights enhance the bust’s color, and force the viewers to focus in on the vivid detail.  The beauty of this sculpture often overshadows the feminine power it symbolizes. The queen is sculpted with extremely soft and feminine features, yet she holds a strong and powerful gaze. Her chin is slightly titled upward, and her neck is extended. 

The most obvious feature of the bust is Nefertiti’s traditional blue cap. The large cap is vibrantly painted blue, and contains a golden strip circling the center. Blue can be a representation of authority and balance; although Nefertiti possessed authority, she brought balance to the dynasty by establishing a new religion and ruling the people in what is arguably the wealthiest time period of the ancient Egyptian world. The vibrant blue also represents harmony and calmness, which is and extremely important trait for a ruler to possess. Blue’s complementary color is orange, so when the cap is paired with the queen’s orange-like skin tone, it makes the traditional head cap even more obvious to the viewer. The queens power is often overshadowed by her beauty, which is represented in Thutmose’s full color model as well. 

Besides being an obvious representation of luxury and wealth, gold can also represent elegance. The queen’s straight-up posture, elongated neck, and tilted chin are all presented in an elegant manor. Elegance is a feature that Egyptian culture expects of a female queen; Elegance makes one beautiful. Gold is an eye-catching warm color that gives off a sense of intimidation, which may be why Thutmose chose to pain the gold strip directly in the center of the blue cap. Just like the blue cap contrasts with the queen’s orange-like skin tone, the thick golden strip contains orange-like tones as well which contrasts with the cap. The golden strip also contains the traditional cobra, Uraeus, sculpted above her brow. Uraeus symbolizes sovereignty, royalty, and divine authority. The cobra is popularly sculpted on figures with authority because it makes rulers obviously recognizable and conveys legitimacy of power.  

Within the strip there are alternating squares of green and red. Not only are these two colors complementary to one another, they also represent feminine features. Red is a representation of beauty and charm. More popularly known for her beauty than power, the Bust of Nefertiti exudes feminine charm. Cultures worldwide have different ideas of what is considered beautiful, yet the bust is universally known for presenting an image of “the perfect female”. Red can also be found painted on to the queen’s lips. Green is a representative of fertility. It is very important for queens to produce children. Nefertiti and Akhenaten produced three daughters. Since there was no male produced during the time of the queen’s reign, Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s reign ended shortly after the king’s death. Together, the red and the green exemplify the queen’s feminine charm, and beauty.

The queen is painted wearing traditional and detailed jewelry. The jewelry contains alternating shapes of blue, green, and red. This is Thutmose’s attempt at tying the queen’s beauty, perfection, and power together. By placing the three colors that are painted most obviously on the bust together, it creates a sense of unity throughout the piece. More popularly acclaimed for its beauty, The Bust of Nefertiti is still considered the most beautiful woman of the ancient world. Although Thutmose created this sculpture with the intentions of it never being viewed, it is now viewed by thousands each and every day. Through the use of vibrant color, Thutmose was able to produce a global icon for feminine beauty, power, and perfection.