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Post by djoser-xyyman on Aug 16, 2010 13:19:25 GMT -5
www.ancient-egypt.co.uk/More Recent Controversy Nefertiti is perhaps best remembered for the painted limestone bust depicting her. Many consider it one of the greatest works of art of the pre-modern world. Sometimes known as the Berlin bust, it was found in the workshop of the famed sculptor Thutmose. This bust depicts her with full lips enhanced by a bold red. One of the three mummies that were left behind became known among Egyptologists as the "Younger Lady" and since then Egyptologists have swayed between believing this corpse to be either Nefertiti or Princess Sitamun, a daughter of Amenhotep III. Fletcher investigated the tomb 2002 after identifying a Nubian style wig worn by royal women during Akhenaten's reign. She also pointed to other clues that suggest that this mummy might indeed be Nefertiti, such as a doubled-pierced ear lobe, which she claims was a rare fashion statement in Ancient Egypt.
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Post by truthcentric on Aug 16, 2010 15:49:50 GMT -5
All that link implies is that Nefertiti's fashion sense was influenced by Nubians, not that she was Nubian herself, and full lips would not have been uncommon among Egyptians.
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Post by imhotep06 on Aug 17, 2010 4:02:58 GMT -5
Actually, ear piercings in Africa can tell you a lot. Contrary to popular belief, Africans rarely did things for "style" but for identification purposes and as a form of speech. Ear piercings, hair styles, tattoos and scarification are all used to identify a people and to convey a commitment to an ideal.
Also, the Black African idea of the transmigration of the soul plays an integral part in many of the "arts" and rituals (especially burial) among African people. For example, among the Cyena-Ntu (Ntu Family) of African people, they believe the notion that the soul must be guided in its return to the same tribe. The idea that a famous man being re-incarnated in an enemy tribe is unthinkable and must be prevented.
For this the tribes would mark themselves in various ways so that their ancestors could find their way back home to either be a medium for the tribe or to be reborn within the same bloodlines. This is the reason why many objects were buried with the dead and even mummification was carried out. It was a way for the dead to identify his things, thus reaffirming that he/she is in the right place. Many times however the burying of items with wealthy people was so that on the other side, in the other village of ancestors, the person maintained their status in the other realm and need these motifs to verify their status.
But as Robert Farris Thompson notes in Flash of the Spirit and his article in the book Africanisms in American Culture, many times items left with the dead were to reaffirm to the dead person that he was in fact dead. The deceased, knowing the customs of his people, would see his things and know that he was in fact dead and not alive. Therefore he should continue his journey to the realm of "forever night" so he can complete the process of being an ancestor.
Again, all this to say that identity was more than art and fashion among African people. One must always resort to the cosmology of the people to see why they do what they do. If Nefertari has piercings in a certain location that identifies a people, that is majorly significant. So I wouldn't knock the notion off hand for this is very important in the study of African cultures.
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Post by djoser-xyyman on Aug 17, 2010 7:09:38 GMT -5
Limestone trial piece showing Nefertiti, 18th Dynasty. Petrie Museum, London.
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Post by djoser-xyyman on Aug 17, 2010 7:21:25 GMT -5
Painted limestone relief of the purification of Royal Women at Amarna and dating to the mid-late period of Akhenaten's reign. The zig-zag lines represent water being poured over their head as a libation. Originally she won a Nubian wig, but this was pilled with Gypsum plaster and modelled to be a side-lock of hair. It is thought that this represents Queen Kiya and the image was altered to represent one of Akhenaten's daughters after Kiya's death. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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Post by djoser-xyyman on Aug 17, 2010 7:25:08 GMT -5
Painted limestone scene from Amarna identified as Nefertiti by her distinctive headdress (71.89)). Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York.
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Post by egyptianplanet on Aug 17, 2010 19:06:57 GMT -5
Djoser how did she "win" a Nubian wig?
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Post by djoser-xyyman on Aug 18, 2010 6:31:18 GMT -5
Thought of correcting it when I saw it but decided not to. This is a copy and paste from the Brroklyn museum website. Even those guys being paid big bucks can miss things. (ie proof reading)!
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Post by egyptianplanet on Aug 18, 2010 9:54:25 GMT -5
It just seems like she got into a chariot race and won the right to the crown or something, lol.
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