Statue of Nefertiti Fragment

Thigh of a life-size statue of Nefertiti, wearing a pleated linen dress, in indurated limestone. Many statues of King Akhenaten, his chief royal wife Nefertiti, and the royal family stood in the temples of Amarna. After the city of Amarna was abandoned the statues were smashed into pieces, in an attempt to erase Akhenaten’s memory from history. This broken statue fragment of Queen Nefertiti was found in the small Aten temple by archaeologists during the 1931 - 1932 excavations of the Egypt Exploration Society (find number 31/359). First displayed in 2017. The stone has been marked by the excavator in black ink T.A. 31.32 359. T.28. The find spot was recorded as the north-west corner of the sanctuary within the small Aten temple within the central city. CONDITION NOTE 1998: Incomplete, pitted, chipped, surface dirt, worn, surface loss, concretions. Wellcome Historical Medical Museum accession no. 153664: FRAGMENT OF A STATUE Hard limestone, a thigh. 20½" x 7". Egyptian. (T.A. 31-32. 359. T. 28). Egyptian Exploration Society, Tell-el-Amarna, 1931-1932. Wellcome Historical Medical Museum accession no. 153664.