Abstract
ABSTRACT The characteristic image of Nefertiti is known all over the world. Discovered in 1912 and first exhibited in 1924, her bust has turned into an icon of universal beauty that is globally recognised. How did this transformation happen, from ancient queen to modern beauty standard? How can we explain her worldwide resonance – in places like Germany and Britain, Brazil and Egypt, Bengal and the United States, places with vastly different aesthetic traditions? So far, Nefertiti’s truly planetary career has not yet been explored. This article addresses the worldwide reach of her fame for the first time. This is a story of struggles over legal ownership and restitution; it is also a story about competing beauty standards in a globalising world. But it is more: Claiming Nefertiti was about making claims on modernity. Understanding Nefertiti’s global fame, from German Egyptologists to Michael Jackson and Beyoncé, tells us much about the changing patterns of cultural globalisation, from the era of high imperialism to the neo-liberal global age.
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