623 - BERLIN GIPSFORMEREI

BERLIN GIPSFORMEREI Berlin Title: Early Ancient Plaster Copy of the Bust of Nefertiti. Date: Moulding ca. 1921-25. Designer: Based on the model by Tina Haim-Wentscher ca. 1920. Material: Plaster, polychromed with beautiful patina. Measurement: Height 60.5 cm. Mark: verso below: maker's mark stamp of the replica workshop: "Weimar 1" (was used until ca. 1925 according to the Staatliche Gipsformerei) and model no. 539. On the underside painter's mark "K". Description: The present copy of the antique original reflects the chippings and damages of the model widely true to the original, as well as the delicate facial features of the queen. An essential feature of this execution is, however, that the second eye, which had stayed concave and not fleshed out at the original, was three-dimensionally worked and polychromed. Additionally this execution has a firmly cast-on base with a Trompe-l’Œil-painted grain of wood. This bust is a historical copy of the ancient original, dating from between 1353 and 1336 BC, which was discovered in 1912 during excavations at Tell el-Amarna and has been part of the collection of the Egyptian Museum in Berlin since 1920. As early as 1913, the sculptor Tina Haim-Wentscher was commissioned to produce a copy of the famous bust. What are believed to be the first two casts were made from artificial stone and presented as gifts to James Simon, the financier of the excavation, and to Emperor Wilhelm II. The latter valued his bust so highly that, following his abdication in 1918, he took it with him into exile at Haus Doorn. In these early versions, the brief was to restore the missing eye and reconstruct damage, for example to the ears. In the early 1920s, Haim-Wentscher was then commissioned to produce a copy of the bust that was as faithful to the original as possible. This was based much more closely on the ancient original, although the left eye was also restored in this version (Dlugaiczyk, p. 171). An impressive testament to the great fascination exerted by the ‘colourful queen’ even before her high-profile presentation at the Amarna exhibition in Berlin, planned for 1924, are the approximately 75 casts of the bust recorded in inventory book 401 of the Berlin plaster moulding workshop between 1921 and 1922 alone (Dlugaiczyk, p. 169). A striking testament to the great fascination exerted by the ‘colourful queen’ even before her high-profile presentation at the Amarna exhibition in Berlin, planned for 1924, are the approximately 75 casts of the bust recorded in inventory book 401 of the Berlin plaster moulding workshop between 1921 and 1922 alone (Dlugaiczyk, p. 169). As the bust in question here is dated to the period between 1921 and 1925, it too originates from these early years of enthusiasm and the creation of legends. Provenance: - Private collection Berlin. Literature: Dlugaiczyk, Martina: Serien-Star Nofretete. Neue Quellen zur 3D-Rezeption der Büste vor der Amarna-Ausstellung von 1924, 2020, pp.162-173, in Helfrich, Miguel und Haak, Christina (eds.): Casting. Ein analoger Weg ins Zeitalter der Digitalisierung? Ein Symposium zur Gipsformerei der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Heidelberg: arthistoricum.net, 2020, pp. 162–173. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: The lot is unsuitable for parcel shipping. Transport only by shipping company after consultation following the auction. additional shipping insurance Shipping insurance up to total invoice amount of 25,000 Euros: max. 41.65 Euro over a total invoice amount of 25,000 Euros: 1.8 o/oo USA by individual arrangement after the auction. #Berlin Gipsformerei #Germany #Early Works of Art.