Nefertiti: An Archaeological Biography

by Philipp Vandenberg

English, German (translation)

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Egypt, Historical, Archaeology

161 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Philipp Vandenberg is the pen name of Hans Dietrich Hartel, a German author of fiction and non-fiction about the ancient world.

Reviews

[Noella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alhoewel dit boek verouderd is, heb ik toch veel bijgeleerd over Nefertete en haar tijd. Ik weet dat sommige beweringen en hypotheses in dit boek ondertussen achterhaald zijn, maar ik denk dat de auteur, met de informatie die toendertijd beschikbaar was, een goede samenvatting gemaakt heeft van de research.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nefertiti: An Archaeological Biography works neither as a reference book nor as a work of historical fiction, though it is closer to succeeding at the latter than existing as an objective and rational look at the evidence.

Written in 1975 (first translated into English in 1978), Philipp Vandenberg's Nefertiti is a 160 page sketch on what the author thinks Nefertiti's life was like. Published when it was, it is natural that Vandenberg does not draw on the most recent theories on Nefertiti and Amarna – indeed, he seems to be writing from a time when Nefertiti was still largely considered to be a Mitanni princess and Kiya was yet to be discovered.

Even considering this, Vandenberg's "archaeological biography" is particularly light on facts or acknowledgement of existing evidences. Sure, sometimes Vandenberg sometimes references a theory that he then adopts, but he never explains why he does this – whether it makes more sense or has more evidence supporting it. Nope, it's "here is a theory, this now our truth for the rest of the book" - and if I'm honest, I think Vandenberg picks the theories he does because they're more dramatic and/or shocking.

Even fringe theories, such as Immanuel Velikovsky's assertion that Akhenaten was Oedipus is given no interrogation as Vandenberg accepts it as fact and runs with it.

So, is it any better as a work of historical fiction? No, not really. Certainly, it has the ingredients to be a historically inaccurate rip-roaring yarn (I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was a major source for Pauline Gedge's The Twelfth Transforming), but at 160 pages, it reads more like a summary of events with a few academic or pseudo-academic references tossed in. It lacks the depth to bring the characters and the context to life.

There is one redeeming point – though not enough to garner another star. While I don't trust this book anywhere near far as I can throw it (it's a very light book), it is easily written and understandable – the pages do fly by.

At the end of the day, Nefertiti: An Archaeological Biography is a waste of space as a reference book. If I started picking apart all of the errors and issues found in the book, I'd be ranting about nearly every paragraph. I have better things to do with my time.

[Maja - BibliophiliaDK ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beware when reading this book! Do not take it for the entire truth! This book was written in 1975 and a lot of new findings have altered some of the results within here. This only represents a single string of theories among many others. There are a lot of things about Nefertiti that today is a mystery but that is clear as day in this book; like Nefertiti's origin, her connection with Amenhotep III and her demise. I am, of course, not saying that he is entirely wrong. I'm just saying that this is but one of the many ways to interpret the archeological findings.

[Asaria · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5

Dawno nie czytałam książki, w której zawarte byłoby tyle błędów merytorycznych. Tłumacz często dodawał przypisy korygujące niektóre z nich, ale też nie zawsze. W praktyce wyglądało to tak: czytam ustęp > googluję> następny fragment > google. Za każdym razem znajdowałam dementi tez autora. pozwala hulać fantazji na prawo i lewo.

Przykłady? Hatszepsut- lesbijka, Echnaton - biseksualista czy Nefertiti pisząca list do króla hetyckiego o przysłanie jej męża (gdy dowiedziono, że słynne listy są autorstwa Ankesenamon) lub też połączenie Kiyi i Nefertiti w jedną postać.

Czuję się jakbym zmarnowała mój czas. Lepiej wyniuchać inne pozycje o okresie amarnejskim. Kurcze, naprawdę muszę coś znaleźć bardziej aktualnego w tym temacie.

Edit: Grzebałam jeszcze nieco przy pomocy wujka Google w sprawie listów hetyckich, nie dawało mi to spokoju. Ponoć faktycznie tradycyjnie uznaje się Ankesenamon za ich autorkę, ale alternatywnie proponuje się/proponowało się również Meritaten i faktycznie Nefertiti, więc tu autor może mieć nieco racji. Zależy czy założy się, że królowa umarła w trakcie rządów Echantona czy po. Amarna to istny melodramat!

[Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't nearly as imformitive as I thought it should have been. Most of it seemed to be focusing on speculation and theories. I have a hard time calling this a nonfiction when most of it was based on speculation. There is little information known for sure about Nefertiti. I don't have a problem with hypothizing about her life and such, but if so, it should have been clearly stated that it is more speculation than fact.

[Tekken · Rating 1 out of 5]

Minu kokkupuuted Nofretetega... Olin just võõral maal võõrasse linna saabunud ja otsisin hotelli taga. No ei olnud seal, kus oleks pidanud olema ja ühtegi pärismaalast ei läinud ka mööda, kelle käest oleks saanud teed küsida. Kiskus pimedaks ja kõigele krooniks läks kõht kole tühjaks, nii et meeleolu oli nullis. Just siis, kui ma ümber nurga pöörasin, vaatas mulle pisikese pandimaja vitriinist vastu naisvaarao isiklikult, kogu oma hiilguses. Kõik originaalil puuduvad detailid olid paigas ja omanik oli talle lisaks ka mingi kohaliku gängi keti kaela riputanud. See oli uskumatult naljakas. Nagu arvata võite, asus hotell pandimaja vastas.

Kui nüüd raamatu juurde minna, siis õnnetuseks võttis Vandenberg selle teema ette siis, kui kenast kuningannast peale büsti ja üksikute ülestähenduste eriti midagi teada ei olnud. Seda, mis puudu oli, asendasid julged teooriad ja autor ise pole ka sellest patust prii. Kõigepealt seletab ta pikalt ja laialt, miks on okei, et büstile ühte silma maalitud pole... ja siis esitab ühe eriti kreisi väljamõeldise Nofretete ja tema skulptori suhete kohta, mis põhinebki selle silma puudumisel. Täiesti segane värk! Õnneks on muumiate DNA uurimine ja 21. sajandil tehtud avastused asjad vähe selgemaks teinud ja kõige jaburamad teooriad ümber lükanud.

Eestikeelne variant on igati korralikult ja pilkupüüdvalt kujundatud, aga sisusse süvenedes kisub vägisi sinnapoole, et nii kõrge lennuga projekt käis kirjastusel üle jõu. Mõned tõlkevasted on ikka päris abitud ja kohati muutub tekst lausa esoteeriliseks. Huvitav küll, miks näiteks Stadnikovi tol ajal konsultandiks ei kutsutud? Ja miks just see Vandenbergi raamat välja valiti? Hiljem on teised kirjastused üllitanud mitu paremat sama autori teost, kuid näiteks oraakliraamat (1979) on tänini tõlkimata.

[Damyan Dimov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Нефертити несъмнено е една от най-значимите личности от античната световна история. Свиделство за това са стотиците, запазени до наши дни, артефакти с нейното име и/или образ. Големият интерес към Нефертити в наши дни се дължи най-вече на това, че тя е имала късмет един от най-впечатляващите египетски артефакти, запазен почти непокътнат, - бюстът на Нефертити, да е именно с нейния образ. Видно от бюста/намира се в Neues Museum Berlin/, Нефертити заслужено носи титлата: най-красивата жена в световната история.
Нефертити е фараон реформатор, който прави опит да трансформира египетската религия в монотеистична. Реформа, която изпреварва времето си поне с 10 века, имайки предвид, че християнството се появава близо 10 века след времето на Нефертити.
Гореизложеното се излага подробно в книгата на Фанденберг и представлява интересната част от изложението. За съжаление обаче присъства и много информация, която е за пълнеж.

[Betty Confetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a terrific complement to Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth, by Mahfouz (novel). I would have appreciated the background for reading Mahfouz's historical novel which is outstanding (probably the best book I've ever read). Vandenberg is not an historian, and speculation abounds--speculative speculation. But I found the archaeological basis for this study to be informative and an incentive now to go back and read Mahfouz's novel for another time. Also, the biography is well-written, non-tedious, and a quick read.

[Montecristo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il libro ripercorre la vita (e i misteri) della regina Nefertiti partendo dalle scoperte archeologiche. Un po' datato ma comunque ancora efficace, poi come spesso accade in questo periodo storico molto è affidato a deduzioni e supposizioni. Interessanti anche alcune curiosità, come ad esempio il fatto che l'occhio mancante nel celebre busto in realtà è sempre stato mancante fin dalla sua creazione.

[Eva Lehmann-Bauer]

I found some 'facts' incorrect. For one Nefertiti passed BEFORE Akhenaten ( which is where Smenkhkare comes into it as co-regent) and also that it was Kiya that is rumoured to be Tut's mother.

It's not a book that I would highly recommend, but by all means it was a good researched book.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, filled with sexism and misogyny…she was so beautiful she must have strayed from her marriage bed, cmon.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was flipping through this book and noticing one startling sentence that made me spend an afternoon reading it. It was the comment that the infamous bust of Nefertiti revealed a blue hairline ("...painted blue at the hairline, which was to indicate that the queen, like every divine being, had hair of lapis lazuli" p. 24). Some early depictions of the Buddha also depict him with blue hair of lapis lazuli. What else was notable? Depictions of the Egyptian sun god (Aten) disk with "the rays of the sun disk, ending in hands" (p. 91). Both Hindu gods and some Buddhist bodhisattvas (such as Guanyin) are depicted with multiple arms ending in hands holding attributes that help us identify them. The multiple arms themselves represent the boundless power of the deity. Aten's hands closest to the pharoah's and queen's faces hold the ankh, symbol of life in ancient Egypt. One of the bodhisattva Guanyin's attributes is a small bottle holding the elixir of life.

Such 'coincidences' are fascinating examples of the phenomena of religious systems and for this reason alone, justify a summer afternoon's reading despite a book's obvious shortfalls (several of which in the field of Egyptology have been commented on by other readers). I want to note one more shortfall due to our increasing knowledge of history (p. 69): "No people in the history of humanity have put such a great value on the equipment of a tomb appropriate to the personality of the deceased as have the Egyptians". The first edition of this book was written just four years after the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huangdi's imperial tomb was discovered in 1974; since then, thousands more have been discovered throughout China--many extraordinary in their size, richness and decoration and no less awesome than Egypt's ancient pyramid tombs.

[Cathy Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting information on an intriguing woman; a little to much detail on the mummification process but overall a good review of the information that archeology has been able to uncover about this period in Egypt's history

[Sarah Marcotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but dated and lacking evidence.