The 1913 partage sends the Nefertiti bust to Germany

In 1913 the seasonal find division (partage) following the Amarna excavation allocated the painted bust to the German excavators, after which it left Egypt for Berlin. Egyptian officials later argued the object’s quality was not fully disclosed.

Context

Partage was the legal frame. Whether Borchardt presented a photograph that hid polychromy is the core of later Egyptian complaint. Britannica records the dispute. Treating 1913 as simple theft upgrades a contested administrative act. Treating it as unproblematic consent erases the power imbalance.

Nefertiti is not the sole author of every later object, law, or museum label that uses the name. Shared work with courts, excavators, printers, spouses, officials, and later states does not erase a documented role, and it does not make an ancient person the signer of a twentieth-century statute.

Why it matters

Medium confidence on hidden-quality allegations, high on the object leaving Egypt.

Later restitution campaigns are separate dated Facts.