Although the dispute over looted and stolen antiquities is not a new issue, in recent years, requests for the repatriation of antiquities to their countries of origin has increased immensely. With the media covering cases of museums and collectors returning valuable pieces to their original locations, more and more countries have begun to make demands for antiquities to be repatriated. At the forefront of these countries is Egypt. Having been deprived of many of its treasures in the wake of imperialism and "Egyptomania," Egypt has begun the long journey of trying to recover a majority of the artifacts that it has lost during the last few centuries. Of those items that have not yet been recovered, two of the most notable are the Bust of …show more content…
Crafted in the early Amarna art style, the bust depicts the Egyptian queen Nefertiti in all her beauty, complete with her long, almost serpentine neck, hooded eyes, and high cheekbones. Her expression is one of dignity and grace, reflecting the meaning of her name, which is roughly translated as "the beautiful one has come" (Egyptian Museum 2014). The bust itself was found in the workshop of the court sculptor Thutmose, and the most agreed upon theory is that it was used by the company of court artists as a prototype for depicting Nefertiti. The use of the bust as a prototype also explains the missing inlay of Nefertiti's left eye due to the master sculptor using the unfinished bust to help teach his pupils how to carve the internal structure of the eye (Bearden 2012, 4). The Bust of Nefertiti was discovered on December 6, 1912 in an authorized dig of Thutmose's workshop led by Ludwig Borchardt of the German Oriental Company. Amidst other unfinished busts of the queen, a portrait head of King Akhenaten, and various other objects, the Bust of Nefertiti was by far the most significant find of the excavation (Egan 2010, 31). Borchardt's personal diary reflects the importance of the bust, writing of its beauty and value: "You cannot describe it with words. You must see it" (Bearden 2012, …show more content…
This sculpture was placed next to the bust in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. At one point, the bust was briefly mounted atop the torso by the museum director and a conservator, all recorded on tape (Merryman, 2006, 165). The exhibit deeply offended Egyptians, and they renewed attempts for repatriation of the bust. Director of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass, at the forefront of the most recent requests for return, described the event as a degradation of the bust, saying that it was done in extreme disrespect (Damian 2012, 51). The exhibition gave Egyptians the opportunity to question Germany's ability to properly care for and display the Bust of Nefertiti. Why should Germany be allowed to possess the bust if they couldn't keep it safe from prying hands and