Well-researched and thoughtful consideration of the creation, re-discovery, and "afterlife" of an image that has achieved almost universal recognition and iconic status, in a little over one hundred years since it was unearthed by German archaeologists in the ruined workshop of the Court sculptor who created it (or, possibly, supervised the workshop where it was created).
Tyldesley does a clear, readable job of balancing all of the elements that make this limestone bust so fascinating. Beginning with what we know about the real woman who was the Chief Wife of the Pharoah Ankhenaten (answer: more than you might expect, but less than we would like!), Tyldesley moves on to cover how it was made, the controversies surrounding its excavation (and, especially, its acquisition by the Neue Museum in Berlin), and its impact on 20th Century art and popular culture.
If I have one little quibble, I felt that, after all of her excellent analysis, and her interesting references to her personal love of the statue (I don't think it's overstating it to say that it was a replica of the Nefertiti bust in Bolton Museum, that Tyldesley saw as a child, that might have started her on her future career), the book ended a bit abruptly: I felt like we were owed just one more, short chapter, to draw all the threads -- personal, artistic, cultural -- together. But that's just a quibble -- this is a fascinating read. It's an excellent example of what good popular history writing is all about.
Tyldesley does a clear, readable job of balancing all of the elements that make this limestone bust so fascinating. Beginning with what we know about the real woman who was the Chief Wife of the Pharoah Ankhenaten (answer: more than you might expect, but less than we would like!), Tyldesley moves on to cover how it was made, the controversies surrounding its excavation (and, especially, its acquisition by the Neue Museum in Berlin), and its impact on 20th Century art and popular culture.
If I have one little quibble, I felt that, after all of her excellent analysis, and her interesting references to her personal love of the statue (I don't think it's overstating it to say that it was a replica of the Nefertiti bust in Bolton Museum, that Tyldesley saw as a child, that might have started her on her future career), the book ended a bit abruptly: I felt like we were owed just one more, short chapter, to draw all the threads -- personal, artistic, cultural -- together. But that's just a quibble -- this is a fascinating read. It's an excellent example of what good popular history writing is all about.
