Nefertiti Bust and Menkaure Trio: Art of Ancient Egypt
Bust of Nefertiti
The Bust of Nefertiti is one of the best-known works from the New Kingdom, currently located in Berlin.
During the New Kingdom, the pharaoh’s image underwent a change in its idealization. This glorious moment occurred during the reign of Akhenaten in Dynasty XVIII. He moved the capital to Tell el-Amarna and introduced monotheism, the belief in the God Aten.
This deity is symbolized by the solar disk from which rays emerge, ending in hands that touch the royal family. The human body became more naturalistic, and even physical defects were represented, challenging the traditional idealization of the sitter (e.g., belly, blindness).
A change in fashion and aesthetic tastes was also evident. The bust is a polychrome limestone casting, measuring 50 cm.
Nefertiti was the principal wife of Amenophis IV. Her name means “Beauty Has Come.” This portrait is celebrated for its modern features, including a swan neck, defined cheeks, and a provocative chin.
The bust exhibits visible makeup lines, eye shadows, lipstick, and skin texture.
It was discovered in the early twentieth century by German archaeologist Borchardt in the chief sculptor’s workshop at Amarna, belonging to Thutmose. The workshop contained twenty plaster portraits prepared of the royal family. The unfinished left eye suggests that these were for internal use, for apprentices and journeymen to copy in relief.
The queen wears necklaces of willow leaves and a blue crown designed specifically for her. This elegant extension of the figure is part of the Amarna Mannerism.
Trio of Menkaure
This stone carving represents the Pharaoh Menkaure accompanied by the goddess Hathor on his right and his wife (or a representation of a province) on the other side.
The sculpture sits on a pedestal attached to a wall, reflecting the Egyptian technique of carving pieces from cubical blocks.
The anatomical study is characterized by the proportional implementation of synthetic and idealized bodies. The treatment of drapery is conventional, revealing the body’s topography, while the faces, despite slight smiles, remain blank.
Frontality is ensured by the placement of the figures: the Pharaoh in the center with a forward foot, while the two ladies remain completely static.
The law of symmetry is evident not only in their bodies, which follow the law of limitation, but also in the composition, where priority was given to the statue of the pharaoh.
This composition depicts Menkaure larger in size and with a high crown. The two women are represented almost identically.
The conventions of Egyptian statuary are manifested by the position of the arms at their sides in a closed-ended manner, and by the leg that the pharaoh advances as the only sign of movement. The beard is also typically pharaonic, and the fists are clenched.
The image study shows the pharaoh as the son of the Sun God (Ra), positioned between the divine and human realms. On his right is the representation of divinity embodied in the goddess of fertility, Hathor, whose attribute is the cow, symbolized by her horns and the solar disk.
On his left is the figure of his wife or, according to others (based on her attributes), the icon of a province.
This sculpture is perhaps one of the clearest examples of rigid, hieratic, and stereotyped representation of the pharaoh as a higher being, distinct from mortals.
It is currently housed in the Cairo Museum, dating back to the Old Kingdom and made of limestone.
Discovered in Meidum, corresponding to the IV dynasty, along with the works of King Chephren, King Menkaure, and scribes, including The Seated Scribe, the most famous of which is in the Louvre.