Nefertiti: The Making of a Global Icon

The characteristic image of Nefertiti, the Ancient Egyptian queen, is known all over the world. Discovered in 1912 and first exhibited in 1924, her bust has turned into an icon of universal beauty that is globally recognized. How did this transformation happen, from ancient queen to modern beauty standard? How can we explain her worldwide resonance – in places like Germany and Britain, Brazil and Egypt, Bengal and the United States, places with vastly different aesthetic traditions? So far, Nefertiti’s truly planetary career has not yet been explored. This presentation addresses the worldwide reach of her fame for the first time. This is a story of struggles over legal ownership and restitution; it is also a story about competing beauty standards in a globalizing world. But it is more: Claiming Nefertiti was about making claims on modernity. Understanding Nefertiti’s global fame, from German Egyptologists to Michael Jackson and Beyoncé, tells us much about the changing patterns of cultural globalization, from the era of high imperialism to the neo-liberal global age.

Sebastian Conrad is professor of modern history at Freie Universität Berlin. His work has focused on the history of nationalism, colonialism, the cultural history of globalization, as well as theoretical debates on the history of historiography, and global history. Among his publications are What is Global HIstory? (Princeton University Press, 2016) and Nefertiti: The Making of a Global Icon (Chicago University Press, 2026, forthcoming).

We cordially invite you to a lecture by Prof. Dr. Sebastian Conrad (FU Berlin). 

20 April, 2026, start: 17:00 / 5pm

Moderator: Dr. Marija Drėmaitė (Vilnius University)

The lecture will take place at Vilnius University Faculty of History, auditorium no. 211.

Language: English

The lecture is organized by our branch office in Vilnius.