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What does the Berlin Cleopatra bust reveal about Cleopatra VII's hairstyle?
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Cleopatra
Cleopatra, carving from the temple of Horus at Idfū, Egypt.
The so-called Berlin Cleopatra, a marble bust housed in the Altes Museum in Germany, provides significant insight into how Cleopatra VII styled her hair.12
The bust reveals that her face was framed by ringlets of curly hair. The remainder of her hair was arranged in a "melon" style—a coiffure characterized by hair divided into segments that run from the forehead toward the back of the head, resembling the ribs of a melon—and gathered into a bun at the nape of her neck. This hairstyle is also observed on other contemporary artifacts, such as the marble bust found on the Appian Way.2