{"id":165571,"date":"2026-02-17T18:57:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/?p=165571"},"modified":"2026-02-17T19:26:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T18:26:42","slug":"the-bride-of-nefertiti-should-return-to-egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/2026\/02\/sollte-die-bueste-der-nofretete-zurueck-nach-aegypten\/","title":{"rendered":"Should the bust of Nefertiti be returned to Egypt?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of Berlin's most iconic exhibits is the striking bust of the Queen Nefertiti<\/a><\/strong>, exhibited in the New Museum<\/strong> on the Museum Island. It is regarded as a global symbol of the beauty, power and craftsmanship of ancient Egypt. Today, it is a central part of the debate about colonial looted art<\/strong> and Repatriation of cultural assets<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its estimated value? A breathtaking 400 million euros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But behind this celebrated artifact lies a longstanding controversy. The bust was pocketed by a team of German archaeologists in 1912 and, like many objects from the Colonial period<\/strong> it was quickly taken out of the country and transported to Berlin, where it can still be found today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call for repatriation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass<\/strong>, reignited the debate in September 2024 by launching a petition demanding the return of the bust. He argues that the artifact illegally taken out of the country<\/strong> and must return to its rightful place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation<\/strong>, responsible for the Berlin museum collections, insists that the bust was acquired legally. But is this claim really tenable?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legality of the acquisition put to the test<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the early 1910s, Egypt was under British colonial rule and had hardly any resources for its own excavations. German archaeologists, financed by the businessman James Simon,<\/a> were therefore given permission to excavate artifacts. The agreement at the time provided for a 50:50 division<\/strong> of the approximately 10,000 finds. This was common practice before the rules changed in 1922 after the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb <\/a>changed fundamentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany claims that an Egyptian representative fairly selected half of the finds, including the Nefertiti bust. Cairo, on the other hand, argues that the German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt<\/strong> deliberately concealed the meaning of the bust in order to smuggle it out of Egypt. The bust initially remained in Simon's private collection for a decade before going on public display in Berlin in 1924.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A century of restitution claims<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Egypt's repatriation efforts are not new:<\/p>\n\n\n\n