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Saturday, January 2, 2010

Egyptian Museum | Cairo Egypt Day 6

After our stop at the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, we were brought to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. I was a bit upset at that because I did not want to have American food in Egypt. But thankfully, it was not burgers and fries after all. We had a buffet spread of a mix of Egyptian and American style of food, which suited me fine.

We then went to the Egyptian Museum. The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history. It houses the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, and many treasures of King Tutankhamen.

Egyptian Museum, Cairo Egypt


Unlike many of the tombs discovered in Egypt, that of King Tutankhamun was found mostly intact. Inside the tomb there is a large collection of artifacts used throughout the King’s life. These artifacts range from a decorated chest, which was most likely used as a closet or suitcase, to ivory and gold bracelets, necklaces, and other decorative jewelry, to alabaster vases and flasks. The tomb is also home to many weapons and instruments used by the King. Although the tomb holds over 3,500 artifacts, it should be noted that this tomb was not found completely intact. In fact, there have been at least two robberies of the tomb, perhaps soon after Tutankhamun's burial. The most well known artifact in King Tutankhamun’s tomb is the famous Gold Mask, which rests over the bandages that wrap around the King’s face. The mask weighs in at 24.5 pounds of solid gold, and is believed to represent what the King’s face really looked like. Many features of the mask the eyes, nose, lips and chin are all represented very well.

The remains of many famous Pharaohs are stored in the Egyptian Museum. One of these is Pharaoh Ramses III, who was an extremely skilled warrior. For many of the mummified pharaohs, it has been very difficult to determine when they were born. Also, historians can only estimate a time when they reigned over Egypt. For Amenhotep IV, historians have estimated that he reigned around 1372 B.C. They knew this because they found out when Amenhotep IV's father, Amenhotep III died. Also, that Amenhotep IV's tomb inscribed five names he gave himself and one of them, Golden Horus, proves that he was crowned on the bank of the Nile, his father's favorite domain. Before he even became pharaoh, however, he was already married to Nefertiti. When Amenhotep IV did become pharaoh, he destroyed the religion of Amun. He did this because he wanted start his own new religion of Aten, the disc which sent out rays ending in hands. King Sneferu was believed to be the first king of the Fourth Dynasty. The year Sneferu was believed to have started his reign over Egypt was around 2620 B.C. Sneferu is believed to have been a fair and just king. Master of Justice or Truth was his other chosen name. Sneferu, like many other kings, built many temples and structures. All of Sneferu’s structures and buildings had a signature. His signature was having a statue of a woman symbolizing the foundation. The statue of the young women is presenting the sign of life and votive offerings, as well as the signs of the city and the stronghold. There are about four or five of these in each province. A lot of the pharaohs had coronation names and they all seemed to be alike. For example, Sneferu, Tut, and Amenhotep all had the name "Golden Horus".

Photographs were not allowed inside the Museum, but I managed to find some pictures of some artifacts I saw at the museum that were very interesting.

Take a look.



Sheikh el-Balad, Arabic title for the chief of the village, was the name given to this remarkable wooden statue discovered by the workmen of Auguste Mariette, the French archaeologist, because it resembled their own village chief.

The statue depicts Ka-aper, the chief lector priest, in charge of reciting prayers for the deceased in temples and funerary chapels. It is one of the masterpieces of the private statuary of the Old Kingdom.

The arms were separately modeled and attached to the body, a technique frequently used in wooden statuary.

A wooden cane supported the left arm, made out of two pieces of wood joined together.

The eyes are inlaid; the rim is made out of copper and the white is of opaque quartz, while the cornea is made out of rock crystal.

Present location: EGYPTIAN MUSEUM [01/001] CAIRO EM
Inventory number: CG 34
Dating: 5TH DYNASTY
Archaeological Site: SAQQARA NECROPOLIS
Category: STATUE
Material: SYCAMORE
Technique: SCULPTURED
Height: 112 cm



Rahotep might have been a son of King Senefru and thus, a brother of King Khufu. He held the titles of High Priest of Ra at Heliopolis, General of the Army, and Chief of Constructions.

He is seen here wearing a short kilt, short hair, a fine mustache, and a heart-shaped amulet around his neck.

Rahotep's wife, Nofret, is described as "the one acquainted to the king." She is seen wearing a shoulder-length wig, decorated with a floral diadem and a broad collar. Her natural hair can be seen under the wig.

We recognize the distinction in the skin coloring of the two statues: reddish brown for the man and cream wash for the woman. This was an artistic convention followed throughout ancient Egyptian history. The colors are well preserved and the faces have realistic expressions.

The torchlight reflecting on the inlaid eyes of these two statues caused the workmen who first gazed at them to be afraid.

Present location: EGYPTIAN MUSEUM [01/001] CAIRO EM
Inventory number: CG 3 , 4
Dating: 4TH DYNASTY
Archaeological Site: MAIDUM
Category: STATUE
Material: LIMESTONE; QUARTZITE
Technique: CARVED; POLISHED
Height: 121 cm
Width: 51 cm

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2 Comments:

Blogger Tony nile life said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

January 2, 2010 at 9:34 AM  
Blogger Tony nile life said...

http://birdinginegypt.blogspot.com/

http://egyptwildlife.blogspot.com/ birds ofEgypt
http://egyptswildlife2.blogspot.com/birds of Egypt
http://www.nilelife.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypthttp://www.nilelife2.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypt
http://egyptdragonflies.blogspot.com/ Dragons and damsels
http://insectsonwings.blogspot.com/ butterflies and bugs
http://myegypttours.blogspot.com/ Tombs and temples of Egypt
http://mydeserttrip.blogspot.com/
http://reflectionsofegypt.blogspot.com// A trip down the Nile http://tonythevolunteer.blogspot.com/
http://myegypt.co.uk/my website

January 2, 2010 at 9:37 AM  

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