3D remake of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti sparks “Whitewashing” Backlash
A 3D remake of Queen Nefertiti who ruled Egypt some 3000 years ago has brought about a race row, with people saying she should be darker.
Scientists from the University of Bristol had worked from Nefertiti’s mummy, using 3D imaging to bring her to life, Fox News reports.
Paleoartist Elisabeth Daynès, who also worked on King Tutankhamun – who is said to be Nefertiti’s son – more than a decade ago, said the recreation took about 500 hours. She said:
I worked closely with forensic paleopathologists and anthropologists to determine accurate muscle, skin and soft tissue depth. Everything was meticulously calculated by hand.
In all, it took more than 500 hours to create the bust. Even the jewelry on the bust was handcrafted by designers who work for Dior.
When you overlay the profile of the reconstruction with the famous Berlin Bust of Nefertiti, they are an incredibly close match.
Egyptologist Aidan Dodson of Bristol University who
was involved in the project said the recreation is consistent with the
ancient representations of the queen. He said:
This remarkable face seems to be consistent with ancient representations of Nefertiti.
Users on social media have however condemned the recreation. Nefertiti, an Egyptian, would have had darker skin.
The creators of the 3D image have been accused of whitewashing and believing in white superiority.
See some of the tweets below:
1.) king tut's mom wouldn't be a white woman— Gabriela (@gigigayle_) February 6, 2018
2.) Nefertiti wasn't King Tut's mom
3.) stop trying to Europeanize black culture, tired of Caucasians Caucasianing all over our history https://t.co/VSD9gGL8Wq
Now y’all really tried it!! So this is Queen Nefertiti? The Today Show should know better! Egypt is in Africa not Northern Europe! she look like a 3rd cousin to the Kardashian’s. You can’t change that people and never will be able to! STOP IT! Give the correct history 🗣 pic.twitter.com/BcJTMYpKCi— CinnaPeach 😋🍑 (@xodes) February 6, 2018
Iman as Nefertiti was perfect pic.twitter.com/Ngu19GrVb8— Waris (@diasporicblues) February 7, 2018
How come Nefertiti look like Susan from Connecticut https://t.co/OF0qSJiEfW— Rae Sanni (@raesanni) February 6, 2018
@TODAYshow— Michael Crump (@CrumpMrcmusic) February 7, 2018
( Queen Nefertiti)
Herodotus stated clearly that the Egyptians were dark skinned with wooly hair. The Egyptians depicted themselves as brown and dark skinned. They share a common ancestor with the Ethiopians. They called their land "Kemet" or the land of the blacks pic.twitter.com/78k0vmw1ub
A reason why Protecting Black History is important is because it’s always under attack from White Supremacist So called historians who only want to distort ,erase,and manipulate our overwhelming historical contributions— Malikai (@MALIKAI) February 8, 2018
Nefertiti was Black and Egypt AKA Kemet = Black
What amazes me about that Nefertiti bust fiasco is that it seemed the people who put it together seemed to just conveniently forget that ancient Egyptian art depicted Egyptians as Black and Brown...like no way in Hell she was white... I’m bitter.— rose water angel 🥀🇲🇦 (@ditavonme) February 12, 2018
The #TODAYshow really had the audacity to make Queen Nefertiti look like a white woman. pic.twitter.com/pplyfNFXQQ— Petty Waldorf (@BabyfaceTatz) February 6, 2018
How the new #Nefertiti turned up white I’ll never understand— Arielle Kay 🌸 (@ArielkeK) February 7, 2018
Teach your children the real history of #Blackpeople not these lies they make up when they feel like it pic.twitter.com/kLFttXnwiy
Nefertiti was a Black African. There were NO WHITES in Egypt in the 18th Dynasty (1580 BCE). Check the hieroglyphics. She was Black.— Eye Father (Rabu) (@rogertgraham) February 13, 2018
“Got a light skinned friend, look like Nefertiti, got a dark skin friend, look like Nefertiti." #TheRundownBET— #TheRundownBET (@TheRundownBET) February 9, 2018
Cool so we just gonna rewrite history like we don’t have the facts?— MOS GEN (@MosGenThePoet) February 6, 2018
So we jus appropriate ancient Egypt?
So we gonna pretend like they had sunblock with SPF1000 in the desert?
So Nefertiti was a white woman?
So that’s what we’re doing? pic.twitter.com/lVlHLTZLQu
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