Nefertiti returns to island home

A famous bust of Egyptian queen Nefertiti has returned to Berlin’s Museum Island, 66 years after being evacuated at the outbreak of World War II.

Ever since its first public exhibition in 1923, the cool precision of the 3,300-year-old sculpture’s symmetrical lines and its finely wrought features have drawn thousands of admirers from around the globe. The artwork spent most of the last 40 years in Berlin’s Egyptian Museum.

The 20-inch-high bust arrived in Berlin’s Altes Museum late on Thursday night under tight security. The plaster and limestone sculpture is due to remain there until 2009, when it will go on display in its original home, the neighboring Neues Museum, which is being restored.