Queen of ancient Egypt and wife of Amenophis IV ( mid 14^th century B.C ) who changed his name to Akhnaton . Politically not of the greatest importance , Nefertiti was nevertheless largely responsible for inspiring the religious reforms introduced by her husband . She has become widely known to the later generations through the superbly serene and simple sculptured head that is now in the Dahlem museum in Berlin . This was discovered during excavations at Tell el-Amarna at upper Egypt and is generally regarded as one of the finest examples of Egyptian carving .