Spoils of War: A Critical Analysis of the Nefertiti Bust Controversy

This essay delves into the contentious debate surrounding the Nefertiti Bust, focusing on the conflicting claims of Germany and Egypt regarding its ownership. The essay examines the historical context, including the bust's discovery by a German archaeological team in 1912 and its subsequent removal to Germany. It presents the arguments from both sides, including Egypt's demand for repatriation and Germany's defense of its possession based on the laws of the time. The author explores the legal and ethical dimensions of cultural property, considering the concept of spoils of war and the impact of colonial practices. The essay concludes by taking a position on the issue, favoring the German side based on the circumstances of the bust's removal while acknowledging the broader implications for the repatriation of artifacts taken from colonized countries. The essay also underscores the importance of understanding historical debates to form opinions on contemporary social and cultural issues.

Running head: SPOILAGE OF WAR
Spoilage of War
Name of the student :
Name of the university :
Authors note :

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The contemporary issue that is dominant in the present context is the spoils of the war
debate. According to the definition of the USA, the spoils of war is any movable property which
is captured lawfully or seized. However, the lawful question is of a debatable topic. The paper
focuses on the debate between the German and the Egyptians on the Nefertiti Bust. The issue has
one of the most burning issues of recent times.
The Nefertiti Bust is a stucco that is coated with limestone, and it is believed to be the
Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharoah Akhenaten. It should be noted that the work is
believed to be crafted in 1345 B.C (Hewson 2016). Nefertiti is said to be one of the most iconic
works from the ancient world. The German archeological team, which was lead by Ludwig
Borchardt discovered the Bust in 1912, and it was said to be taken to Germany the following
year in Germany.
Over the past few weeks, there is a growing debate on the real homeland of the Nefertiti
Bust. The Egyptian side of the story is that valuable object was illegally taken out of Nerfertii by
the german and therefore officially they want it back (Matic 2018). However German expert says
that it was not taken out Egypt illegally. Dr. Zahi Hawass has brought attention to the issue more
recently. The Egyptians argue that Borchardt has obscured the quality of the object by leaving
the object with the thickest grime. To support their argument, they have taken reference from the
german excavator diary. They argue that the excavator knew the identity then and there only and
was trying to camouflage the issue to meet up the vendetta ( Van Doornmalen 2017). The
German side of the story is that there is a complete understanding of what would remain in
Germany and what would remain in Egypt; therefore, there is no question of returning the
artifact to the Egyptians. To counter Dr. Hawass's claim, the German people told that there is a
considerable time which passed to recover the Bust as the portrait of the king lay in the side f the

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burst and that needed to be discovered first ( Bearden 2012). In one of the documents which were
written in 1924, it was recounted how the German oriental company busted a dig around in 1912.
According to the Germans, the Nefertiti and the Akhenaten is a testament to the best chapter in
German history (Bearden 2012). There is a cultural significance on the issue, and even the
postcard of Germany has this cultural linkage, which is the best essence as apart of the cultural
patrimony, and according to the Egyptian law of that time, the excitation did not falsify the
ownership.
In this particular case of the Nefertiti Bust, The side of the German story is most is I think
more authenticated. The excavator during that time followed the Egyptian law and did not falsify
the value of the Bust by concealing the identity. And one of the excavators, Stephen Urice has, in
fact, said that the transfer of the Nerfertti during that time was, in fact, legitimized, and it was not
illegally taken out of the country. Therefore, I am on the side of Germany. However, in other
cases, I feel especially in the case of the colonist when they take artifacts illegally and valuable
material from their colonies. This is not acceptable, and it should be returned to native lands.
The issue is various complex, and the whole issue cannot be generalized in the global
context. There are various issues on the same. However, this issue has definitely shed a
perspective on the issue ( Nguyen and Oglesby 2015). The Syrian and the Greek artifact, in my
opinion, should be returned to them if taken illegally, and no more artifacts should be taken fro
these countries, and this is wrong ethically and morally as well. Understanding this historical
debate by contemporary society will help the citizen to form opinions regarding the past and the
current social and cultural issues.
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that there is a major conflict between the
German and the Egyptians on the issue of the Nefertiti. The Bust was taken out of Egypt

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following its execution, while one side claimed that it was lawful. The other side has concluded
that it was not lawfully taken. However, it has also been proved that the Egyptians law at that
time supported the took over. There is also a constant debate over the issue of different parts of
the country in the issue of the spoilage of the war.

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References
Bearden, Lauren. "Repatriating the Bust of Nefertiti: A Critical Perspective on Cultural
Ownership." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 2.1 (2012): 2.
Hewson, Claire. "The mystery of Nefertiti." Primary Teacher Update 2016.56 (2016): 7-8.
Matić, Uroš. ""Her striking but cold beauty ": gender and violence in depictions of queen
Nefertiti smiting the enemies." Archaeologies of gender and violence (2018).
Nguyen, Angela T., and Amanda G. Oglesby-Sherrouse. "Spoils of war: iron at the crux of
clinical and ecological fitness of Pseudomonas aeruginosa." Biometals 28.3 (2015): 433-
443.
van Doornmalen, S. J. Returning Euphronios, Elgin and Nefertiti. Value Attribution in the
Debate on Cultural Restitution and Ownership. M.S. thesis. 2017.