The Bust of Nefertiti

One of the greatest places to look for artistic inspiration is to the past. Ancient Egypt boasts an enormous collection of fascinating and diverse pieces from various eras of history and thankfully many artifacts still remain. One of these is the stunning bust of Nefertiti.

To me this is one of the most beautiful pieces out there.
For those who don't know, Nefertiti was the great royal wife of Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Consort of Egypt. She is one the most famous Egyptian 'Queens'. The piece is made from limestone and stucco and is nineteen inches high. It was created in 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose. The piece was found years later in the workshop of Thutmose by a German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt on 6 December 1912. It's home is at the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany. There has been some controversy over the authenticity of the piece.
What I love most about this piece is it's most striking feature, her missing eye. Besides the symmetry of the piece and example of Ancient Egyptian beauty the piece is fascinating for the missing eye. Most likely it was lost in time but some think it may be because Nefertiti suffered from an ophthalmic infection and lost her left eye though this is unlikely because other pieces show her with the iris. There is something so beautiful about the colours of the bust and I love the fact the iris is missing because it gives her an air of mysticism and all knowing beauty. I cannot phrase it better than Borchardt did in the main written account of the discovery in his diary, 'Suddenly we had in our hands the most alive Egyptian artwork. You cannot describe it with words, You must see it'.