Nefertiti: Missing Artefact of Grand Egyptian Museum
15 Nov 2025 5:48 PM IST15 Nov 2025 5:48 PM IST
It all started on 6 December 1912, when a team of German archaeologists led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust alongside other artefacts in a workshop that had belonged to the sculptor Thutmose.
The archaeologists discussed their finds with Egypt, keen on keeping the bust for themselves. However, they were told they could not take Nefertiti home; priceless artefacts were not to leave the country. (Photo by arrangement)
The highly anticipated Grand Egypt Museum opened its doors to the public in Cairo on Tuesday. Amidst the collection, there's a space reserved for a 3,300-year-old painted stucco-coated limestone bust of the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, Nefertiti - a sculpture that has been missing from its homeland for 112 years.
It all started on 6 December 1912, when a team of German archaeologists led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust alongside other artefacts in a workshop that had belonged to the sculptor Thutmose. Borchardt found the bust to be the most beautiful sculpture he's ever seen, writing an account of it in his diary:
"Suddenly, we had in our hands the most alive Egyptian artwork. You cannot describe it with words. You must see it."
The archaeologists discussed their finds with Egypt, keen on keeping the bust for themselves. However, they were told they could not take Nefertiti home; priceless artefacts were not to leave the country.
And so, Borchardt devised a plan - a plan that some might call one of the greatest art heists in history.
He covered the entire bust of Queen Nefertiti with mud, disguising the masterpiece as a gypsum bust of a princess and forcing the required documents to pass through Egyptian inspectors. The authorities let the team leave, but by the time they realised what had happened, Nefertiti was sitting in Berlin. Long gone.
Everyone was raptured by her beauty, and she quickly became one of the most famous faces in art history. Germany refused to return the sculpture to Egypt, and soon enough, the infamous Adolf Hitler took a liking to the bust. He resolved to never relinquish the head of the Queen, hiding the artefact in a salt mine throughout the course of World War II.
American soldiers located Nefertiti in 1946, and when Egypt pleaded for the U.S. to return what was rightfully theirs, the nation denied their request, assuming that it would set a dangerous precedent for the country.
The Egyptian Museum in Berlin claims the sculpture is a mere copy, the original having been lost in the war.
Whether Berlin's head is the real deal or not, the disappearance of Queen Nefaretiti is the perfect crime, one that both the U.S. and Germany are accomplices to. Nobody served prison for holding her majesty hostage, and to this day, justice has not been served.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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