Loading ...Guerrilla artists secretly 3D-scan Nefertiti's bust
Lexi Finnigan
The Telegraph
Guerrilla artists have used a concealed 3D scanner to produce an identical copy of a celebrated ancient bust for a rival museum.
The bust of Queen Nefertiti, created 3,361 years ago in Ancient Egypt is currently on display in the Neues Museum in Belin.
But two artists have now scanned the 48cm limestone and stucco carving and have produced a precise copy for a Cairo museum.
The pair said they were determined to redress the act of plunder by German archaeologists who discovered the sculpture in Egypt in 1912, sparking a dispute between the two nations over ownership.
And German-Iraqi artist Nora al-Badri and her German colleague Jan Nikolai Nelles now say they will make the ancient secrets of the bust freely available to anyone who wants to print a 3D copy.
“The Berlin museum monopolises the bust and thus continues an imperial practice, instead of allowing open access to Nefertiti, especially for Egyptians,” Mr Nelles told the Times when asked about his motivation.
Nefertiti, whose chiselled cheek-bones and regal beauty were immortalised in the 3,300-year old bust, died in the 14th century BC.
Nefertiti was the primary wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who introduced a form of monotheism to Egypt.
Nefertiti is believed to have survived her husband and ruled Egypt herself as pharaoh under the name Neferneferuaten.
The artwork was chosen by the artists as symbolic of “millions of stolen and looted artefacts all over the world” and they hope that their act of will put pressure on western institutions to repatriate works from abroad.
Mr Nelles told The Times that they visited the museum several times in October to scan the bust surreptitiously; even still photography is banned in the display room.
The artists told a German newspaper that the scanning device was hidden under Ms al-Badri’s coat and also concealed by a scarf that she moved to one side to obtain images.
The artists have not been charged and it is not clear whether they have committed a criminal offence.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk