A German foundation has rejected an Egyptian request to return the 3,400-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti.
German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust south of Cairo in 1912, and it was taken to Germany the following year. The sculpture, famed for its almond-shaped eyes and swan-like neck, is housed in Berlin’s Neues Museum and draws over a million viewers a year.
Egypt's antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass, had appealed to the foundation seeking return of the bust. But foundation president Professor Hermann Parzinger said in a statement: "the foundation's position … remains unchanged, [The sculpture] is and remains the ambassador of Egypt in Berlin."
compiled from agency reports
German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust south of Cairo in 1912, and it was taken to Germany the following year. The sculpture, famed for its almond-shaped eyes and swan-like neck, is housed in Berlin’s Neues Museum and draws over a million viewers a year.
Egypt's antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass, had appealed to the foundation seeking return of the bust. But foundation president Professor Hermann Parzinger said in a statement: "the foundation's position … remains unchanged, [The sculpture] is and remains the ambassador of Egypt in Berlin."
compiled from agency reports