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Primary sourceSculpture1351-1334 BCE

Unfinished Model Head of Nefertiti

1351-1334 BCE

An unfinished sculptor's practice head of Queen Nefertiti from an ancient Egyptian workshop, now in Berlin.

This workshop model head was made to study and reproduce Nefertiti's likeness for royal statues.

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Front view of an unfinished limestone model head of a woman, with painted black eyebrows, eyes, and lines on the cheeks and neck, a plain flat-topped crown area, and a partly gilded chin. Plain dark background.
Unfinished model head of Nefertiti, 18th dynasty, 1351-1334 BCE. Neues Museum, Berlin.

About this source

What it is

This is an unfinished limestone model head representing Nefertiti, made during the 18th dynasty around 1351-1334 BCE. It shows painted eyebrows, eyes and facial lines, with a plain, unfinished crown area and a partly gilded chin. It is held at the Neues Museum in Berlin.

Why it matters

Model heads like this were made by sculptors in royal workshops as practice pieces or guides for finished statues. This unfinished example offers a rare look at how artists of Akhenaten's reign studied and reproduced Nefertiti's face, giving insight into the artistic methods behind the famous Amarna-style royal portraits.

Look closer

  • Why might a sculptor need to make a practice head before carving a final statue?
  • What can the unfinished parts tell us about how this object was made?
  • What does the care given to depicting Nefertiti's face suggest about her importance?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Queen Nefereti on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Bust of Queen Nefertiti

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Figure of Nefertiti

Close-up detail of an Amarna limestone relief. A seated woman wearing a tall flat-topped crown is at right, with a sun disc and rays above. At left, a smaller figure with a child's head is seated near her, and carved hieroglyphs fill the background.Sculpture

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Akhenaten and His Family

c. 1352 BC

Photo of a curved, blue glazed ceramic fragment with white body edge, covered in raised concentric ring motifs with dots. Two holes pierce the piece near its center, with a scale bar along the bottom.Sculpture

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Relief Fragment Showing the Blue Crown of Nefertiti

Black-and-white line drawing of columns of Egyptian hieroglyphic text arranged in vertical lines, with cartouches visible, copied from a wall inscription. This is a facsimile of the Great Hymn to the Aten.Document

Primary source

Great Hymn to the Aten

Akhenaten · c. 1350 BC

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