\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 This statuette in pink quartzite, from which the head is unfortunately missing, may represent Queen Nefertiti. She was the wife of Akh
enaton, the pharaoh who revolutionized Egyptian culture with a new religion based on the worship of the sun god.\par
Numerous works of art celebrate the beauty of the queen, who was said to have been ôbeautiful of face, lady of joy, great in love.ö She
probably also played a significant role in the administration of the kingdom.\par
The royal couple appear together in a small sculptural group in painted limestone, also in the Louvre.\par
In the statuette the queenÆs florid figure is emphasized by the
transparent tunic, which clings to the body and the left arm with subtle folds, leaving the right shoulder enticingly bare.\par
The bodyÆs forms are rendered naturalistically. The artist has shown great skill in giving the softness of flesh to the ston
e. \par
Although the back of the statuette is still attached to a pillar, it displays a freer conception of the figure in space than is to be found in older works.
