What material was used to create the Bust of Nefertiti?

What material was used to create the Bust of Nefertiti? Limestone.

The Nefertiti Bust was carved from a limestone core and then covered with layers of painted stucco. Limestone is therefore the correct answer for its principal sculptural material, while stucco explains the smooth outer surface and vivid painted finish. The bust is about 48 centimetres tall and weighs roughly 20 kilograms.

The work is believed to have been made around 1345 BCE by the sculptor Thutmose during the Amarna Period. It was found in 1912 in what appears to have been Thutmose's workshop at Amarna, alongside other portrait studies and unfinished sculptures. Its elegant face, blue crown, broad collar, and carefully modelled features made it one of ancient Egypt's most recognisable images.

The material can be misunderstood because the bust's surface is painted and stucco-coated. It is not bronze, alabaster, or granite. Modern examination has also revealed that the visible face is not simply a thin decorative shell: Thutmose carved subtle facial details into the limestone beneath the stucco and then adjusted the final appearance with additional layers. The missing left-eye inlay is another famous feature, but it does not change the bust's underlying material.