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
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

— Gabriela (@gigigayle_) February 6, 2018

https://twitter.com/xodes/status/960999002077581312

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
( 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

— Michael Crump (@CrumpMrcmusic) February 7, 2018

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
Nefertiti was Black and Egypt AKA Kemet = Black

— Malikai ® (@MALIKAI) February 8, 2018

https://twitter.com/ditavonme/status/962888518551744512

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

https://twitter.com/ArielkeK/status/961336071454896134

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?
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

— MOS GEN (@MosGenThePoet) February 6, 2018

Photo Credit: @joshuagates