Gustave Lefebvre

bust of Nefertiti, discovered in the sands of the studio of the sculptor Thutmose, and was a piece that Borchardt wanted for Germany. Recent evidence proves that Borchardt manipulated his way into keeping the bust. Borchardt first showed the Egyptian official a photograph of the bust "that didn't show Nefertiti in her best light".^[2] In the accompanying documents, the object was listed as a painted plaster bust of a princess. When Gustave Lefebvre came for inspection, the bust was tightly wrapped up in the bottom of a box. The document reveals that Borchardt claimed the bust was made of gypsum (a very low-grade material) to mislead the inspector. Borchardt was one of the leading Egyptologists in the world, and knew that the bust was actually made out of limestone. The bust was one of the artifacts at the top of the exchange list but was never asked for by the Egyptians in 1913. The bust of Nefertiti was granted to Germany according to the provisions of Law No. 14 of 1912, and is today a primary exhibition of the Neues Museum in Berlin. Time magazine lists the bust of Nefertiti as one of the world's top 10 plundered artifacts.^[3]