Where is the bust of nefertiti
The mysteries of the Nefertiti bust
[Music]
it's the 16th of October 2009 in the
east of Berlin the newly restored Noah's
museum is about to reopen the museum
houses the finest collection of Egyptian
artifacts in Germany but the biggest
draw is the arrival of one of Egypt's
most famous Queens the bust of Nefertiti
it's a masterpiece
that had been on display in the old
museum in Berlin for 20 years now
Nefertiti is moving homes to become the
star attraction in the neues Museum
I think it's an absolute masterpiece and
certainly timeless
it really is perfection and full of
aesthetic value one sees the perfect
beauty where does it come from
is she Diddy's asuka's the life made her
a star [ __ ] still easy attached so it's
a little like the Mona Lisa morally
sound it is the icon of the Egyptian
identity
Nefertiti is over 3,000 years old
tremendous care is taken to ensure no
damage is done to the flawless face the
cheese in such good condition is one of
the enigmas in the history of
archaeological discoveries
[Music]
but the party is spoiled by some news
from Geneva that is widely reported in
the media that the bust of Nefertiti is
a fake the controversial claim comes
after a 20-year long inquiry conducted
by author and historian Artie sterile on
Lucas's I've no doubt in my mind that
this is a fake a copy a phony or a model
for more yoker dude what first made the
academic suspicious was the exceptional
state of conservation of Nefertiti's
bust when it was discovered the object
was incongruous it bore no resemblance
to any other three thousand three
hundred year old busts from egypt to
historian re stella the bust of
Nefertiti is simply too well-preserved
or as he puts it too new to be true then
there is a second bust found lying
alongside that of Nefertiti
it's a bust of her husband the Pharaoh
Akhenaten and it's completely disfigured
Why should there be such a difference in
the condition of the busts which were
found at the same time at the same place
so is Nefertiti a fake in montpellier in
southern France archaeologist and
Egyptologist mock gabbled who is also an
expert on Nefertiti considers sterile
lands claims I have to say he was right
to ask the question but the arguments
he's provided aren't necessarily
sufficient and even if he can give me
some strong scientific arguments that it
is a forgery then I would accept it
there's certainly some doubts after him
it in the basements of the neues Museum
in Berlin a news conference is being
held the journalists are taking notes
but there are no questions about the
charges of authenticity in Germany such
accusations are considered taboo because
the bust discovered a century ago in
Egypt by german archaeologist Ludwig
Borchardt has now become a symbol in
Germany nevertheless we did ask a
question to noise museum director
Frederika Seyfried state when you stand
before the past the question never even
enters your mind it goes without saying
it's authentic the real question is why
would it be a thing I'm a felon
numerous archaeologists Americans
Italians French have expressed their
doubts about whether the must is genuine
but none of them have made their doubts
official so we've decided to stage our
own inquiry you see everyone's been very
circumspect no one has dared come right
out and openly declare the object to be
a faithful
[Music]
so is the most famous bust of ancient
Egypt of Foley to find out we met with
the greatest experts subjected the bus
to a lie detector and retraced history
what we uncovered during our inquiry
will forever change your opinion about
Egypt's most mysterious Queen and her
likeness the bust of Nefertiti
[Music]
who was Nefertiti it's one of the great
mysteries of Egypt's pharaonic past
generations of archaeologists have
scoured through all the monuments gone
through each hieroglyphic on each column
and temple war in an attempt to find the
slightest evidence of our existence
archaeologists went up the Nile as far
as Karnak searching one of the country's
largest religious centers for any traces
of Queen Nefertiti in this labyrinth of
columns and temples they finally found
the first image of the Queen
[Music]
it was chiseled directly into a stone
from a now lost temple but nothing is
known of Nefertiti's origins
she was probably Egyptian almost
certainly the wife of the famous 18th
dynasty pharaoh the great Akhenaten
[Music]
Nefertiti was the principle wife of
Akhenaten she was the only one who had
the rights to the title great spouse of
the king
we know the Queen's sisters and we know
of her nurse but we know nothing about
the origins of Nefertiti's family to be
honest I'd have to say we don't know
she's the queen of Egypt of whom we have
the most representations and documents
but also the one with whom we know the
least it's not known who Nefertiti's
parents were but what's striking is her
remarkable beauty with a face that at
first appears so contemporary it's
thanks to her husband Akhenaten for
heretic and rebel that her name has
survived the Pharaoh has gone down in
history for having imposed at on the son
God as the only deity and getting rid of
the rest of the many Egyptian gods
during his reign in the eighteenth
dynasty Akhenaten has new temples built
many of them open to the skies to allow
the sun's beneficial rays to shine
through in his new religion Akhenaten
develops a cult of the personality as he
and the Sun God gradually become the
same being
[Music]
Nefertiti and Akhenaten were also the
most romantic of all the pharaonic
couples their love for each other began
at a very young age on these statuaries
their age has given us 14 for the first
time the people witnessed to adolescents
masters of an empire holding hands
they're portrayed as being very much in
love all the more astonishing and all
the images of the king and queen
embracing Sir William ya Kenna Tomas
they are depicted on the royal chariot
I cannot on is kissing Nefertiti the
queen is shown placing a necklace around
the Kings neck and he seizes the moment
to give her a peck on the cheek it's a
very intimate moment and must reflect a
true love story decorum
[Music]
in the seventh year of their reign
Akhenaten and Nefertiti relocate from
Karnak and set up at tell el-amarna
in the middle of the desert there they
build a new royal city they call acket
at on which means the sun's horizon the
most famous couple in the history of
Egypt lived in a modern city that was
built quickly with space for 50,000
inhabitants a city dotted with temples
that had no rules Akhenaten and
Nefertiti spent much of their time
worshiping the Sun God
but the reign of Akhenaten and Nefertiti
will last only seventeen years after
their deaths their successors will
destroy all trace of their existence and
dismantled the palaces brick by brick in
less than 30 years the city will
disappear back into the desert
Simca Putin you might say it's the
Pompeii of the sands when you dig
through the buildings from the 18th
dynasty the only time they were occupied
was during the era of Akhenaten so just
over 15 years and it's on a real
snapshot of life in Egypt back then well
not enough stopping it don't over yet
it was in this five by ten kilometer
rectangle of desert that on the 6th of
December 1912 the bust of Nefertiti
emerged whole from the middle of nowhere
Ludwig Borchardt
was born in Berlin in 1863 he became the
most famous archaeologist of his day
Egypt its monuments and architecture
fascinated borchardt in 1906 the german
archaeologist organizes a dig in the
remains of Akhenaten's city a ghost town
according to some at the site of a
terrible act of vandalism to the
archeologists Borchardt is a real sleuth
and is persuaded he'll make the
discovery of the century and on the 6th
of December 1912 surrounded by his team
he will uncover the find of a lifetime
celebrated bust of Nefertiti the
statuette carved from limestone was
found just fifty centimeters below some
gravel Borchardt has resurrected a
remarkably lifelike and Technicolor
queen
but how did archaeologists borchardt
make this masterpiece appear out of
nowhere before the arrival of the german
Akhenaten's ancient city had been the
virtual preserve of the British and
their chief archaeologist sir Flinders
Petrie who had led major excavations on
the site in 1891 and 1892 they had open
tombs unearth the Magnificent frescoes
of senior officials and uncovered the
foundations of palaces but they had
never come across anything like the
Magnificent bust of Nefertiti
so when Bohr shuts archaeological
expedition showed up it made the British
sneer they're convinced the German will
find absolutely nothing Flinders Petrie
was already there he stopped I think at
the end of the 19th century working
Intel alarm honor and for him he was
through he had the idea it is done and
nobody has food there's nothing to find
anymore but I mean as we know this was
not true for Karki came to amana
initially because he saw it as a major
source of information on domestic
architecture but at the back of his mind
was the fact that he had close
connections with the Berlin Museum and
he rather wanted something spectacular
to bring back to Berlin
at the beginning of the 20th century
Egypt was the world's largest hunting
ground for archeologists Prussia had
lagged behind in the race for treasures
Kaiser William ordered borchardt to
return with a trophy
whatever the cost before excavations
begin the clever archaeologist seeks the
advice of Cairo's leading antiquarians
many of whom do business with looters
he's told that part of Akhenaten's
ancient city has yet to be excavated
[Music]
borchardt is also an architect before
arriving he drawn up floor plans for the
southeast sector
once inhabited by artisans but untouched
by both the British and the looters
[Music]
etcetera dita he's interested in housing
starts digging through the larger villas
these can be distinguished on the site
by the small mounds later he extends the
dig to include all the house
and by an extraordinary stroke of luck
he uncovers the offices and the house of
the sculptor Moses one of the highlights
of its excavation I saw a beautiful
borchardt soon realizes he's come across
a property that includes several
sculptors studios
[Music]
excited the archaeologist decides to dig
through every square inch of the gardens
and behind the silos he identifies the
house of the senior craftsmen formosus
the personal sculptor of Akhenaten and
Nefertiti and it was here that Borchardt
is said to have found the bust
[Music]
intrigued we retrace the steps one
century later archaeologist Ludvig
borchardt and search out the house where
the bust was discovered tell el-amarna
is a five hour drive south of Cairo
I cannot on the Nefertiti's ghost town
joining us is Luke Vuitton an expert in
ancient Egyptian works of art who is
employed by the courts to identify
forged pieces Egyptian archaeologists
Amada is the Inspector General of the
dig at tell el-amarna well here as you
can see is Borchardt report in
exhibition see as you can see this is
the official report made after the
excavation by bo Chaddha
[Music]
look Vitara has an exceptional document
the notes and sketches of archaeologists
looked at Borchardt
in which he writes extensively of his
discovery of the bust in 1912
the document will prove invaluable in
tracing the exact spot where Nefertiti's
bust was uncovered
look Patrick now we arrived to the house
of Tatas this is very important house
which we find this which word heart in 6
December 1912 find the basket
this is what remains 3,300 years later
of the studio of fat Moses the chief
sculptor it's in one of these rooms at
Borchardt the german archaeologist
reportedly found the bust with a map
archaeologists lukovitch ha interprets
the site and all I think more this is
quite moving because this is the villas
reception room it's almost certain this
is where the owner would have
entertained his special guests senior
official Queen Nefertiti herself and if
you leave the room in that direction
yeah we get to the sculptor studio and
behind the door and Borchardt notes are
very precise about this it's right here
in this corner that he found the bust of
the Queen so according to Borchardt
Nefertiti was here buried for more than
3,200 years yet still so realistic but
that's not all because the house of
Akhenaten senior sculptor turns out to
be filled with treasures
Borgia discovers other pieces the finest
collection of busts from the period
plaster masks strangely lifelike and
models of Studios like our inner tones a
model that's incomplete and the famous
bust of Akhenaten himself found lying
next to Nefertiti's hood Vic Borchardt
donates all his finest trophies to the
Museum in Berlin but in all this
archaeological fairy tale there's one
detail that grabs the attention of a
historian it's an element that will
spark an investigation worthy of a
detective novel
[Music]
in his colonial-style house in Cairo
Ludwig Borchardt will take more than ten
years before he publishes the complete
report on his digs at tell el-amarna he
tells how he found the limestone bust of
Nefertiti and another bust also in
limestone found alongside of the pharaoh
akhenaten its face ripped apart in his
topographical notes [ __ ] takes great
care to note the location of the bust of
Nefertiti he also marked where the
disfigured must've Akhenaten had been
found according to his drawings the bust
of Nefertiti was on a shelf in a corner
of the studio the bust of Akhenaten was
the first to be found on the floor near
the entrance to the left but the passage
of time caused the outer wall to crumble
and the bust of Nefertiti with it
[Music]
Akhenaten's bust was found in several
pieces while strangely Nefertiti's was
intact almost as if it had just left the
sculptor studio the whole story was pure
deception made up by bore shot that was
the conclusion of Swiss historian
artisteer Lam who had investigated the
case for 20 years he questions bore
shots report and concludes that
Nefertiti was quote simply too beautiful
to be authentic come on [ __ ] we've gone
up juicy how's it possible that such a
heavy object such a delicate objects a
finely painted what could have fallen
like four shot claims from a shelf about
a meter and a half from the floor onto
stones without being damaged especially
since he claims it fell facedown first
caught and then he says it's such a
delicate object I mean it's hardly
possible that only the ears were damaged
and besides the ears wouldn't even have
hit the floor when the object
when his inquiry began in 1984 at least
Ellen expressed his doubts to Dietrich
fielding one of the greatest German
archaeologists and beyond all reproach
at the time the director of the Museum
in Munich building had studied the bus
for many years and shares dear lands
doubts he had written a letter to still
on those who were let Kimmy do well in
the letter that he wrote he said my
project was valid persuasive
let me quote you word for word he writes
Lucy Cooper Toyland
in other words convincing and coherent
in the letter dieter vildan also admits
to his own suspicions about the state of
conservation of the Nefertiti bust and
that its style was not consistent with
the Akhenaten period and that he was
even willing to write the introduction
to his report then in 1989 his name the
curator of the bust of Nefertiti
and makes a dramatic you turn suddenly
sends me another letter in which he says
he's been named the director of the
Berlin museum where the Nefertiti
Buster's house and the whole issue and
that he was distancing himself from the
inquiry and therefore could no longer
get involved but to me the most worrying
thing was when two representatives came
down from Berlin to persuade me to stop
my research than will discredit
continuing my share the story on every
Stalin is not someone who is easily
intimidated and will continue his
relentless investigation albeit now
totally isolated
fascinated by the story we head back to
Berlin for a meeting with Dietrich
fiddled on on the eve of our interview
the archaeological expert decides to
cancel we call back pretending we
haven't received his message mr.
Dietrich yes I'm calling because we have
a meeting arranged for tomorrow about
Nefertiti I wanted to know what time we
can get together I sent an email out
today in which I absolutely refuse to
talk about that object otherwise I might
have serious difficulties will later
learn that the German authorities have
formally forbidden air-filled them to
talk about Nefertiti's bust or to
mention our least air lands research
to the historian the bust of Nefertiti
was the result of an experiment
[ __ ] had a copy of the bust made
because he wanted to examine sculpting
techniques on plaster and in particular
how the Egyptians had used color in fact
he had at his disposal materials that
had been found during the excavations at
tell el-amarna
we had everything on site sure no blood
you know plasters fairly easy to make
and it's impossible to date and the
stone it's made from is found all over
Egypt it's the country of limestone we
can use a large piece of limestone and
then make it the size you need
after that you put the plaster on and
then let the sculpt to do his work and
make a good copy
he had a great number of faces he could
copy from authentic objects that had
been found to be teak like this bust an
unfinished but authentic model of
Nefertiti which was also discovered in
third Moses's studio it has traces of
carbon showing what still needed to be
sculpted did Borgia use a model like
this one found on site which he then had
painted
rocki Borchardt is very precise in his
notes from the dick he states he found
large quantities of pigments adding they
were all still quite usable but if this
was an experimental copy how is it bore
shots never spoke of it to his team nor
in his meticulous notes according to the
historian on the 5th of December 1912
the archaeologist was in Cairo he learns
that one of Germany's princely families
is passing through and wants to visit
his archeological digs caught unprepared
Borchardt rushes back to tell el-amarna
he arrives on the 6th of December 1912
which was meant to be a day off for his
workers he immediately sets them back to
work
[Music]
later he proudly shows their Highnesses
the fruits of his labor in an excess of
zeal one of the dick foremen an Egyptian
called Sanusi disappears briefly during
the visit then returns with a bust of
Nefertiti the Royals are delighted with
such a masterpiece and a photograph
immortalizes the moment leaving
Borchardt apparently no time to explain
it was a copy and not the real thing at
least their land claims the photo is
what trapped the archaeologists
[Music]
you couldn't just tell that all visitors
who are infusing over the object listen
you're mistaken it's it's ridiculous it
would make a mockery of the Royal it was
simply not possible to tell the truth or
the Rawls might have been covered in
ridicule and that would have been leis
Majesty or treason which at the time was
very serious indeed and could have
ruined borscht arts career and life for
good after the Rawls left the bust
mysteriously disappears for almost 11
years
borchardt reportedly gave it to his
sponsor James Simon it was the wealthy
industrialist who had financed part of
his expedition to tell el-amarna they
were so excited James when he got the
message that they'd found this beautiful
figure and it was I'm sure a great
anticipation here in Berlin waiting for
it to come back and the bus sat on his
coffee table you know for almost 10
years sitting in his home from 1912 to
1924 Borchardt systematically refuses to
show the Queen in public
[Music]
with a bow from a tipper who you can't
go at first I didn't realize the missing
I was such an insult to her image and
dignity through shorter simple clear
song imagine a one-eyed Nefertiti
definitely a crime of treason and
sacrilege against the pharaonic image of
the great queen of Egypt to find out
more we visit the University of liège in
Belgium there Dmitry LaBrie one of the
greatest specialists of the art and
archaeology of ancient Egypt gives us
his expert opinion it's a tool like an
artist dummy a studio monitor used so
the sculptor can reproduce faithful
copies of the officially sanctioned
image of Nefertiti that had been
approved by Akhenaten and probably
Nefertiti herself
the bust and many others like it were
says professor library communication
tools the official portrait of the Queen
had to be instantly recognizable to the
priests and the people in both upper and
lower egypt
as to the fact one eye was missing
according to the experts that was purely
another model to show the exact depth it
was necessary to sculpt to correctly
inlay Nefertiti's eyes
Dimitry l'amore says the robust was a
typical studio model of the Akhenaten
family style
[Music]
if you look at Akhenaten's mouth and you
look at the mouths of the Armani and the
princesses and you look at the mouth of
Nefertiti's father-in-law they're shaped
differently but it's in the same sensual
and aesthetical manner the key argument
in favor of the bus authenticity has in
fact been disproved by one of Germany's
best Egyptologists Ralph Krauss escaped
American what we know is that the bus
was made according to a distinct set of
proportions
not just any proportions but those of
the Egyptian finger Sunland Inc and
Allah's malicious roster in Britain and
the USA the foot and the inch are used
in the measuring system the Egyptians
used the finger as a point of reference
to create a new buster a nut on sculptor
is believed to have first drawn up a
reference grid for sculptors all across
Egypt each line was based on the width
of a finger the bust of Nefertiti had to
correspond to these measurements Roth
Krauts also proved how certain cross
sections systematically correspond to
precise facial anatomical points the
base of the nose for example of the
mouth in this way the length of the face
would be calibrated with the base of the
chin to the headdress she's made based
on a grid of proportions calculated on
the Egyptian unit of measurement of one
point eight seven five centimeters the
Egyptian finger she's built metrically
but the counterfeiter at the time would
have had to know how to use the egyptian
centimeter and not the modern one
the proportional grid would have allowed
standardized production of the bust of
Nefertiti across Egypt apparently the
forgers at the start of the 19th century
were not aware of this but there's yet
another anomaly that is further proof
the bust as a fake the shoulders that
are cut vertically the arms on the bust
were cut vertically and apart from some
very rare exceptions it's just not
something you see in Egyptian art busts
cut horizontally at the level of the
shoulders and not vertically is the bust
of Nefertiti with its shoulders cut
vertically the only artwork of its kind
in Egyptian history to seek an answer
it's back to Berlin's noise museum
the director Frau Seyfried says there is
one other example of a bust cut
vertically it's this one also discovered
by Borchardt in 1912 and part of a
collection of objects that's never been
put on public display upset at the
scandal created by stare lands book Frau
Seyfried rummage through the entire
storage of the museum to find the famous
bust or at least what's left of it yes
it is possible to see are there examples
of bus with cut shoulders vertically
this one is from the excavations at tell
el-amarna you can still see the line
that shows the central axis and you can
clearly see the shoulders cut like the
colored queens so a second bust does
exist with the same cuts of the
shoulders in the spat between experts is
this a sufficiently strong argument to
finally prove the authenticity of Queen
Nefertiti in Berlin the neues museum in
an effort put an end to the rumor mill
once and for all has decided to submit
the bust of Nefertiti to a lie-detector
test can science finally prove it's
genuine the bust has been transferred to
a hospital in Berlin to undergo a
scanned
what Nefertiti has in her brain may
finally be revealed the first
observation is the bust is made up of a
limestone lump a lump covered in the
plaster a method that allowed the
sculptor or counterfeiter to change
certain parts of the bust
[Music]
it's proof Nefertiti was altered
see here yeah you can clearly see the
shoulder viewed from behind the white
part is limestone what you see below it
in gray is plaster put on after the
skull holes finished it's been added to
make some Corrections to it and what's
absolutely clear from the rear view is
that the right shoulder is higher than
the left one plaster had been used to
correct and reinforce the curve of the
neck of the limestone Nefertiti bust and
the sculptor had even altered the cheeks
and cheekbones as well as the bridge of
the nose by adding some plaster there
too was this the world's first facelift
[Music]
but other than some evidence of plaster
surgery what do the x-rays prove
a tomography the tomography isn't
definitive proof by cutting out samples
from inside the object you cannot prove
when it was made you can only states
there's a stone interior there's a layer
of plaster that's been sculpted as to
when we just can't tell tell my cat
forget it
I can't tell using this method that the
bust is 3,300 years old what about the
plaster itself used to cover the
limestone Nefertiti does it date from
the time of Akhenaten the Germans took a
sample from the Basten had it analyzed
by a chemist a specialist in ancient
Egyptian objects
[Music]
that is a stroke even awesome several
elements were found in the sample of
plaster that existed only in the armand
yin period or a little earlier the same
as in the architecture and the masks
which means the plaster mix was an
invention from that era the composition
of the plaster is typical from the
Amarna period in other words the plaster
that covers the bust of Nefertiti is
indeed of the type used by Egyptians
more than three thousand years ago when
the bust was discovered they had no way
of knowing what constituents were in the
plaster the technology that allows such
analysis wasn't developed until the
1950s a counterfeiter would have had no
way of knowing the plasters composition
he might though have used plaster found
during the archeological dig in 1912
for now though there's no way of being
sure there's one other scientific way to
test Nefertiti's authenticity for
pigments which make the busts so vivid
imitate skin color so accurately and
make the mouth so sensual
four colors dominate art in Egypt
blue green ochre and yellow each
dynasties artists however had their own
techniques to mix and use pigments by
analyzing the pigments found at tell
el-amarna
can the bus to be finally authenticated
foodie pigment Oh as artists ORS the
analysis of the pigments showed us that
the colors were indeed those used in
ancient Egypt deal and that the
technique of preparing the pigments with
an abandoned during this period warm
here to the forger could have cheated
because as you may remember [ __ ]
when he discovered Nefertiti in the
studio of thirty Moses had also
uncovered a treasure trove of pigments
of all colors
[Music]
there were yellows reddish ochres light
ochres and the renowned lapis lazuli
blue ice-t hunt back up by the end of
Akhenaten's reign the sculptors and
artisan band and their studios in tell
el-amarna they took with them only the
more important things knowing house
didn't there's a large part of their
reserves of pigments of course but they
would have left behind quite a few
enough pigments maybe to decorate a
queen so is Nefertiti real or a fake the
experts have no doubt all the scientific
and historic tests are categorical the
materials are all authentic but there
remains one issue a contradiction a
suspicion
none of the materials with which it's
made allow the bust to be dated
accurately
no technology exists that contain stone
sculptures the Technicolor queen of
eternal youth will therefore continue to
defy science for years to come and like
all the great ladies of history conceal
her age in the early part of the 20th
century enthusiastic amateurs played at
being explorers following in the
footsteps of the archaeologists the
discovery of the bust of Nefertiti by
Ludwig Borchardt sparked a particular
craze for all objects dating from the
period of Akhenaten
[Music]
unfortunately they were very rarely
available but it meant the forgers would
be kept busy
[Music]
at around this time in Cairo a certain
aiming brooch starts a lucrative
business he provides artists with
genuine articles which they then copy or
use to make fakes
[Music]
it's almost too easy since at the time
Brooke was in charge of the shop at the
Museum of Antiquities in Cairo Berlin
period for a while the museum would
allow its staff members particularly the
restorers to take some of the objects
home with them to study them as it were
some of the restorers became remarkably
accomplished forgers today their
identity is largely unknown apart from
some rare photographs such as this 1910
image of two known counterfeiters one is
Paulo Dingley from Malta variously a
painter sculptor and forger Dingley
exercised his skills at home curiously
Ludwig Borchardt was known to visit him
on a regular basis one of more shots
responsibilities was to act as a buyer
for museums back in Germany in some room
that's in those days forgery was a
flourishing business so it was crucial
not to buy the wrong things off sits
Deardon and watches a Milan right of
emitted there were many forgers back
then and today it's difficult to
calculate how much counterfeit stuff
they produced yet the question remains
about whether some museums are still
displaying some of their fakes escaped
cane was your mouth David that's there's
not one Museum anywhere in the world
that doesn't have forgeries the quality
of some of the fakes was exceptionally
high and there are no guarantees that
even the experts wouldn't be taken in we
all have something in stock that in
museums but it's keep it as feral
fakes that for the most part date back
to the 1920s modern Cairo and it's 16
million inhabitants are there still
forgers as talented as the earlier
generation in the city to get the answer
we contacted one of them luke vaca an
archaeologist and an expert on forgeries
comes with us as we head out of Cairo
towards Memphis so we're going to
Memphis which is 25 kilometers south of
Cairo it's an area that has many studios
where some of Egypt's best forgers live
work it might be risky and we have to be
careful but by speaking Arabic we should
be able to win their trust fairly easily
I still in conferences here people
the counterfeiters headquarters in the
Cairo suburbs is at meats rohini a poor
area where no tourists ever goes to
establish contact for the forgers we
pretend to be buyers acting on behalf of
rich collectors Madea doesn't have his
own studio yet he works from home
at the moment he's working with
limestone he suggests sculpting a small
pharaoh's head in less than 10 minutes
[Applause]
you see how fast it is look at the
technique is using and the points of
reference he uses the limestone he's
chosen is very soft
using a simple rasp moodier completes
his demonstration in just a few minutes
[Applause]
then he soaks the sculpture in water to
make the veins and the limestone stand
out the result is convincing one can
just imagine what this young forger
could achieve over two months working in
granite or other type of rock copying
from an original work that's good isn't
asking whether if I bring him an
original work you could make an exact
copy of it yes I can copy it no problem
I can show you something I've done
already to convince us he would make a
good supplier
mudiay shows us a bust in rose granite
which he's using to sharpen his skills
and which he's copied just from a
photograph
the stone Medea is using is 3,000 years
old it would certainly fool the experts
but where does it come from how can you
get hold of stone that dates back to the
time of the Pharaohs
the answer lies a short distance from
Moody's house these are the ruins of a
temple that dates back to the time of
ramses ii it's not the only one it's
just part of the great temple of path
from the ramses period the site lies
abandoned and unsupervised in the center
of Mithra hina an open-air mine for the
forgers the remains of ancient Egypt are
there for the picking in a few years
nothing will be left everything will
have been pillaged just forgeries
sculpted from the legs of Ramses the
second door in this column of
hieroglyphics these at least are genuine
Berlin March 2011 18 months after the
opening of the noise museum visitors
flock in their thousands to see the best
ambassador Egypt has ever sent to
Germany Queen Nefertiti the Germans very
own Mona Lisa but on the far side of the
Mediterranean the latest success of the
star exhibit at the neues has stirred
anger and renewed nationalist sentiments
at the end of the main gallery of
Cairo's big museum the most powerful man
in the world of Egyptology has agreed to
be interviewed in the hall dedicated to
the great Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife
Nefertiti he doesn't mince his words for
almost two years
we studied everything until we have a
proof that the bust of Nefertiti in
Berlin was taking illegally out of Egypt
the bust of Nefertiti should be in this
museum and not in Berlin did the Germans
steal the bust of Nefertiti Zahi Hawass
has made a serious charge at the start
of the 20th century the custom was that
objects found during digs were equally
divided between the archaeologists and
the state of Egypt
but Zahi Hawass the secretary-general of
the Supreme Council of Antiquities in
Egypt says Ludwig Borchardt cheated when
it came to Nefertiti in that time there
was a protocol that anything for kings
and queens to be discovered that Amarna
cannot leave Egypt according to the
Germans on the 17th of January 1913 the
staff Lefevre leaves Cairo for tell
el-amarna the excavations had already
ended a month before every object the
Germans had found had been inventoried
labeled and packed ready to leave for
the Museum in Berlin Ludwig Borchardt is
waiting for Lefevre the German is
nervous scared that the Frenchman might
confiscate his prized possession Queen
Nefertiti
[Music]
we know what happened that evening
thanks to Bruna Goethe Bach an
eyewitness to the dividing of the spoils
and one of war shots colleagues he
described what happened in detail in a
letter so Goethe box says the cases were
opened and they looked through
everything I wasn't there and neither
were you
so we can't say this is what really took
place but Gustav Lefevre made his
choices in Kabul that Lefevre wouldn't
have realized that this object had to
absolutely remain in Egypt scandal is
revealed by Rolf Krause the former
curator of the Egyptian Museum in Berlin
decides to reveal the details of how the
objects were shared
he claims Lefevre never examined the
contents of the packing cases and that
he was never shown the photo of Queen
Nefertiti
but another photo instead
juda boxart lefeber pootabuck works the
fav had seen a bad photo of Nefertiti
one which showed only a part of the bus
the nose the mouth and the eyes are not
the whole bust of a nifty guns a booster
in photo and the photograph was dark was
looked clear it was not colored like
today what lefeber allegedly saw then
was a photo of Nefertiti without her
royal headdress and necklace resembling
a princess rather than a queen yet the
fair did have the possibility of better
judging the pieces by taking them out of
the travelling cases that way he would
have discovered the splendid bust of
Nefertiti dunwood elephant in the smart
seeing of the favor was taken towards
the cases but he'd never asked for the
objects to be taken out he not seeing
laquanda used to listen couldn't know
was such a beautiful object her heart
tried his best to hide the beauty of the
statue and he took it out of Egypt
illegally did Borgia trick LaFave by
showing him an incomplete photo of the
Queen who cheated vidoe obviously bore
shot
archaeologist Rolf Krause believes the
bust of Nefertiti should be in a museum
in Cairo but definitive proof was still
lacking
