Terms and conditions of use
Head of Queen Nefertiti, from sculpture flanking Boundary Stela Q
1353 BCE-1337 BCE
Medium
limestone
Measurements
34.3 × 21.0 × 20.5 cm (approx.)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Presented by N. de Garis Davies, 1907
© Public Domain
Gallery location
18th Century Decorative Arts - Great Hall Costume Corridor
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Queen Nefertiti was principal wife of the pharaoh Akhenaten. This head of the queen comes from one of the near life-size sculptures flanking boundary stela Q, one of the sixteen enormous inscribed stone tablets that delineated the boundaries of the city of Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna). In the late nineteenth century, each stela was assigned a letter by the archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie, and this statue fragment came from Boundary Stela Q. The head’s fragmentary state is the result of deliberate destruction of the site, a backlash against Akhenaten’s controversial religious beliefs following his death. Yet despite its damaged state, the head of queen Nefertiti is unmistakably recognisable, with her high cheekbones and tall, flat-topped crown. It is a rare early portrayal of the queen, few of which survive.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
el-Amarna, Egypt
Accession Number
616-D2
Department
Antiquities
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited