This is one of the rare cult statues associated with Nefertiti.
Under the impulse of Amenophis IV Akhenaton (XVIIIth Dynasty), although it still complied with the strict religious rules, Egyptian art adopted a new style, as revolutionary as the monotheist dogma proposed by the Pharaoh.
The image used by the king, expression of his way of thinking, doesn't stop at the picture of the solar globe, Aton, the only god and creator of all life forms. Akhenaton actually shows great boldness and uses his own image and that of Nefertiti to express his reform.
The excessive size of the royal couple's hips and thighs, among other things, evokes the source of life, a gift from the god that lives in them and that they in turn pass on to their subjects.
This explains why beautiful and mysterious Nefertiti (it is probably her), with her adolescent bust, is distorted, thus nearly resembling a steatopygous goddess.
The weight is however lessened by the elegant and intelligent arrangement of the pleats, evoking solar rays, of the tunic and shawl. The pleats soften the body; the material, a beautiful red quartzite, also gives it an incredibly lively intensity.
Far from the usual clichés representing Nefertiti's face alone, this suggestive though mutilated work probably shows her advancing toward Aton, with her eyes closed and her right hand raised in sign of respect.
The emplacement of an antique bronze tenon shows the position of the arm and the traces of the restoration of this rare cult object.
