Restored Tomb Of Nefertari Highlights Ancient Egyptian Art Six-Year Restoration Project Showcases Wall Paintings

The tomb of the Egyptian queen Nefertari was opened to the public Saturday for the first time since its discovery in 1904, capping a six-year effort to restore and protect what archaeologists describe as the finest collection of wall paintings from the Pharoahs’ 3,000-year reign.

Dug into the base of limestone cliffs near this Nile Valley city 450 miles south of Cairo, the tomb consists of two large chambers and several smaller side rooms, lavishly decorated with representations of Egyptian gods and Nefertari herself, who is depicted in unusually lifelike form.

The paintings are remarkable for their electrifying colors - including oranges, blues and greens - and their intricate detail, such as steam rising from a bowl of soup.

Although grave robbers stripped the tomb of artifacts long ago, the paintings have survived largely intact since Nefertari’s death in the 13th century B.C. at about age 40. Renowned for her beauty, Nefertari was the favorite wife of Ramses II, who ruled Egypt for 67 years and is considered the mightiest of all the pharaohs.

With concern mounting over the deterioration of many of Egypt’s treasures, authorities have taken unusual measures to protect the newly opened tomb. The number of visitors will be limited to 150 per day, compared with up to 4,000 per day at other royal tombs, and humidity monitors have been installed.

An international team restored the tomb at a cost of $2 million, paid by the California-based Getty Conservation Institute, which funds cultural preservation efforts.

“It’s probably the best example of the (ancient) Egyptians’ ability in two-dimensional art,” David P. Silverman, an Egyptologist at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a telephone interview. “The significance is that it is in really superb condition. The art in it is beautiful.”

Nefertari’s tomb was discovered by Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli in Luxor’s Valley of the Queens, which is part of the complex of tombs and monuments that comprise the ancient necropolis of Thebes. The pharaohs were laid to rest nearby in the Valley of the Kings.

Although the tomb at the time of its discovery was largely empty except for a few fragments of the pink granite sarcophagus that once held Nefertari’s mummified remains, archaeologists consider its paintings as priceless as any jewel.

Visitors descend a flight of stairs into an outer hall, then another flight into the burial chamber. Its plaster walls are lavishly decorated with paintings that tell of Nefertari’s “passage into the afterlife,” according to Miguel A. Corzo, the director of the Getty Institute and a guest at Saturday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

In a number of scenes, Nefertari is shown making offerings of meat, milk, soup and other foods to the gods, many of whom assume the form of hawks or other birds. The god of death, Osiris, is depicted in human form but in a vivid shade of green. Panels of hieroglyphics consist of statements asking for permission to enter the afterlife, Corzo said.

The paintings that have most intrigued archaeologists are those of Nefertari, in part because they are unusually detailed and presumably bear at least a passing resemblance to her, according to Silverman.

“There are very few examples of real portraiture in ancient Egypt,” Silverman said. “Ordinarily, the faces are done in a sort of monochrome, but you can see that her cheeks are redder (than the rest of her face) and there are gradations of colors. You can see the lines, the creases in the neck … almost as if it’s a moment caught in time.”

Ramses II had many wives and is said to have fathered more than 100 children. But archaeologists are convinced that Nefertari was his favorite, citing not only the care lavished on her tomb - she died before he did - but also the temple Ramses erected in her honor at Abu Simbel.

Written records suggest that Nefertari was unusually active in politics and government, taking part, for example, in diplomatic missions to the neighboring Hittite kingdom, according to Corzo.

The paintings did not come through 32 centuries unscathed. Because of water seepage, salt had migrated into the tomb from surrounding limestone, causing its plaster surface to crack and buckle in many places.