THE ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM HAS FILED A FEDERAL LAWSUIT TO TRY TO KEEP A 3,200 YEAR OLD MUMMY MASK THAT EGYPT WANTS RETURNED, CLAIMING IT WAS STOLEN NEARLY TWO DECADES AGO. THE MUSEUM CLAIMS THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO SEIZE THE 20 INCH LONG FUNERAL MASK OF KA-NEFER-NEFER AND RETURN IT TO EGYPT. BUT THE MUSEUM SAYS IT HAS LEGAL RIGHTS TO THE MASK IT PURCHASED FROM A NEW YORK ART DEALER FOR $499,000 IN 1998. EGYPT OFFICIALS HAVE CLAIMED THE MASK WAS STOLEN IN THE EARLY 1990s FROM A STORAGE ROOM NEAR A PYRAMID. THE SUIT, FILED IN FEDERAL COURT IN ST LOUIS ON TUESDAY, CLAIMS THERE IS NO PROOF THE MASK WAS EVER STOLEN. IT ALSO CLAIMS THAT THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS HAS EXPIRED FOR ANY SEIZURE.

ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM TRIES TO PROTECT EGYPTIAN MASK FROM SEIZURE

THE ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM HAS FILED A FEDERAL LAWSUIT TO TRY TO KEEP A 3,200 YEAR OLD MUMMY MASK THAT EGYPT WANTS RETURNED, CLAIMING IT WAS STOLEN NEARLY TWO DECADES AGO. THE MUSEUM CLAIMS THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO SEIZE THE 20 INCH LONG FUNERAL MASK OF KA-NEFER-NEFER AND RETURN IT TO EGYPT. BUT THE MUSEUM SAYS IT HAS LEGAL RIGHTS TO THE MASK IT PURCHASED FROM A NEW YORK ART DEALER FOR $499,000 IN 1998. EGYPT OFFICIALS HAVE CLAIMED THE MASK WAS STOLEN IN THE EARLY 1990s FROM A STORAGE ROOM NEAR A PYRAMID. THE SUIT, FILED IN FEDERAL COURT IN ST LOUIS ON TUESDAY, CLAIMS THERE IS NO PROOF THE MASK WAS EVER STOLEN. IT ALSO CLAIMS THAT THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS HAS EXPIRED FOR ANY SEIZURE.

ST LOUIS ART MUSEUM TRIES TO PROTECT EGYPTIAN MASK FROM SEIZURE

THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL CHARGED WITH PROTECTING HIS COUNTRY'S ANCIENT MONUMENTS IS THREATENING TO TAKE BACK AN ICONIC OBELISK IN CENTRAL PARK UNLESS NEW YORK CITY TAKES STEPS TO RESTORE IT. THE STONE OBELISK 'HAS BEEN SEVERELY WEATHERED OVER THE PAST CENTURY' WITH NO EFFORT MADE TO CONSERVE IT, ZAHI HAWASS, SECRETARY GENERAL FOR EGYPT'S SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES, WROTE IN A LETTER THIS WEEK TO NEW YORK MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG. THE OBELISK, WHICH COMMEMORATES KING THUTMOSE III, HAS STOOD BEHIND THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART SINCE 1881. AT 71 FEET TALL, IT IS KNOWN AS 'CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE' AND IS ONE OF A PAIR, THE OTHER ONE IS IN LONDON. THE OBELISK DATES BACK ROUGHLY 3,500 YEARS AND WAS GIVEN TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE 19th CENTURY BY AN OFFICIAL IN EGYPT. 'I HAVE A DUTY TO PROTECT ALL EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS WHETHER THEY ARE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE OF EGYPT', HAWASS WROTE IN A LETTER. 'IF THE CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY AND THE CITY OF NEW YORK CANNOT PROPERLY CARE FOR THIS OBELISK, I WILL TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO BRING THIS PRECIOUS ARTIFACT HOME AND SAVE IT FROM RUIN', HE WROTE. THE HIEROGLYPHICS HAVE COMPLETELY WORN AWAY IN PLACES, HE SAID. JONATHAN KUHN, DIRECTOR OF ART AND ANTIQUITIES FOR NEW YORK'S PARKS DEPARTMENT, TOLD LOCAL NEWS WEBSITE DNAinfo THAT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF 'ANY SIGNIFICANT ONGOING EROSION.' A METROPOLITAN MUSEUM STUDY IN THE 1980s FOUND THE GRANITE WAS 'LARGELY INERT' AND THAT THE DAMAGE TO THE INSCRIPTIONS AND THE BASE OF THE MONUMENT OCCURRED IN THE DISTANT PAST, KUHN SAID. 'WE HAVE BEEN WORKING IN RECENT YEARS WITH THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM AND THE CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY TO FURTHER ANALYZE THE CONDITION OF THE OBELISK AND MONITOR ITS CONDITION', KUHN TOLD DNAinfo. REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MAYOR DECLINED TO COMMENT.

EGYPTIAN GOVENMENT MAKES THREATS OVER NEW YORK OBELISK

THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL CHARGED WITH PROTECTING HIS COUNTRY'S ANCIENT MONUMENTS IS THREATENING TO TAKE BACK AN ICONIC OBELISK IN CENTRAL PARK UNLESS NEW YORK CITY TAKES STEPS TO RESTORE IT. THE STONE OBELISK 'HAS BEEN SEVERELY WEATHERED OVER THE PAST CENTURY' WITH NO EFFORT MADE TO CONSERVE IT, ZAHI HAWASS, SECRETARY GENERAL FOR EGYPT'S SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES, WROTE IN A LETTER THIS WEEK TO NEW YORK MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG. THE OBELISK, WHICH COMMEMORATES KING THUTMOSE III, HAS STOOD BEHIND THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART SINCE 1881. AT 71 FEET TALL, IT IS KNOWN AS 'CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE' AND IS ONE OF A PAIR, THE OTHER ONE IS IN LONDON. THE OBELISK DATES BACK ROUGHLY 3,500 YEARS AND WAS GIVEN TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE 19th CENTURY BY AN OFFICIAL IN EGYPT. 'I HAVE A DUTY TO PROTECT ALL EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS WHETHER THEY ARE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE OF EGYPT', HAWASS WROTE IN A LETTER. 'IF THE CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY AND THE CITY OF NEW YORK CANNOT PROPERLY CARE FOR THIS OBELISK, I WILL TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO BRING THIS PRECIOUS ARTIFACT HOME AND SAVE IT FROM RUIN', HE WROTE. THE HIEROGLYPHICS HAVE COMPLETELY WORN AWAY IN PLACES, HE SAID. JONATHAN KUHN, DIRECTOR OF ART AND ANTIQUITIES FOR NEW YORK'S PARKS DEPARTMENT, TOLD LOCAL NEWS WEBSITE DNAinfo THAT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF 'ANY SIGNIFICANT ONGOING EROSION.' A METROPOLITAN MUSEUM STUDY IN THE 1980s FOUND THE GRANITE WAS 'LARGELY INERT' AND THAT THE DAMAGE TO THE INSCRIPTIONS AND THE BASE OF THE MONUMENT OCCURRED IN THE DISTANT PAST, KUHN SAID. 'WE HAVE BEEN WORKING IN RECENT YEARS WITH THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM AND THE CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY TO FURTHER ANALYZE THE CONDITION OF THE OBELISK AND MONITOR ITS CONDITION', KUHN TOLD DNAinfo. REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MAYOR DECLINED TO COMMENT.

EGYPTIAN GOVENMENT MAKES THREATS OVER NEW YORK OBELISK

AS SELF-HELP MANUALS GO, THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD HAS CERTAINLY STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. FOR CENTURIES, THE 3,500 YEAR OLD GUIDE OFFERED EGYPTIANS A STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO THE JOURNEY FROM THIS LIFE TO THE NEXT. A STUNNING NEW EXHIBITION AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM HOPES TO SHED NEW LIGHT ON THE BOOK, WHICH WAS NOT A SINGLE VOLUME, BUT A SERIES OF SPELLS AND ILLUSTRATIONS INKED ONTO PAPYRUS SCROLLS AND DESIGNED TO HELP THE DEAD MAKE THE PERILOUS JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFE. THE SHOW SEEKS TO DISPEL THE MODERN NOTION, PARTLY CREATED BY ALL THE TOMBS, MUMMIES AND FUNERAL MASKS, THAT ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WERE OBSESSES WITH DEATH. THE SHOW, WHICH OPENS THURSDAY AND RUNS TO 6.MARCH, IS THE FIRST OF THREE BRITISH MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS LOOKING AT DEATH AND SPIRITUALITY THROUGH THE AGES. A SHOW NEXT YEAR LOOKING AT DEVOTION IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE. THE EGYPTIAN EXHIBITION REVEALS A HIGHLY DEVELOPED SOCIETY WITH A COMPLEX THEOLOGY, AND AN EYE FOR COMMERCE. IT WINDS, LABYRINTH-LIKE, THROUGH THE MUSEUM'S CIRCULAR READING ROOM, MIRRORING THE JOURNEY HUMANS WERE THOUGHT TO TAKE AFTER DEATH. IT WAS A SPIRITUAL OBSTACLE COURSE THAT SAW THE SOUL LEAVE THE MUMMIFIED BODY OF THE DEPARTED AND TRAVEL THROUGH THE NETHER WORLD. THERE IT COULD BE WAYLAID BY SCORCHING FIRES, POISONOUS SNAKES, WILD ANIMALS AND WORST OF ALL THE DEVOURER, A DEMON WITH THE HEAD OF A CROCODILE, THE BODY OF A LION AND THE HINDQUARTERS OF A HIPPOPOTAMUS. THE FINAL OBSTACLE WAS A TRAIL, AT WHICH THE HEART WAS PLACED ON A SET OF SCALES AND WEIGHED AGAINST A FEATHER. A LIGHT HEART MEANT SUCCESSFUL PASSAGE TO THE AFTERLIFE. A HEAVY HEART, WEIGHED DOWN WITH SIN, MEANT BEING THROWN TO THE DEVOURER. THE BOOK'S SPELLS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, DEVELOPED OVER CENTURIES FROM ABOUT 1,500 BC, WERE INTENDED AS A GUIDE TO OVERCOMING THESE OBSTACLES. THERE WERE 200 SPELLS IN ALL, FROM WHICH WEALTHY EGYPTIANS COULD PICK AND CHOOSE FOR THEIR OWN CUSTOM-MADE BOOKS OF THE DEAD. THE EXHIBITION BRINGS TOGETHER SOME OF THE TREASURES FROM THE MUSEUM'S WORLD-FAMOUS COLLECTION OF EGYPTIAN ARTIFACTS. THERE ARE MUMMIES, GILDED FUNERAL MASKS AND CEDAR COFFINS COLOURFULLY DECORATED IN RED AND BLUE. THE STAR OBJECTS ARE THE SCROLLS THEMSELVES, LONG ROLLS OF PAPYRUS COVERED WITH NEAT BLACK AND RED HIEROGLYPHIC COLUMNS AND ILLUSTRATED WITH SCENES OF THE AFTERLIFE. THEY WERE ROLLED UP AND PLACED ALONGSIDE MUMMIES IN THEIR COFFINS. SPELLS ALSO WERE INSCRIBED ON COFFIN WALLS. MUMMIES' SHROUDS AND EVEN THEIR LINEN BANDAGES. FRAGILE AND EASILY DAMAGED BY LIGHT, THE SCROLLS ARE RARELY DISPLAYED. THE LONGEST, A 120 FOOT SCROLL MADE FOR THE DAUGHTER OF A HIGH PRIEST ABOUT 3,000 YEARS AGO, HAS NEVER BEEN SHOWN IN PUBLIC BEFORE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.britishmuseum.org

BRITISH MUSEUM PRESENTS EXHIBITION ON EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

AS SELF-HELP MANUALS GO, THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD HAS CERTAINLY STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. FOR CENTURIES, THE 3,500 YEAR OLD GUIDE OFFERED EGYPTIANS A STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO THE JOURNEY FROM THIS LIFE TO THE NEXT. A STUNNING NEW EXHIBITION AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM HOPES TO SHED NEW LIGHT ON THE BOOK, WHICH WAS NOT A SINGLE VOLUME, BUT A SERIES OF SPELLS AND ILLUSTRATIONS INKED ONTO PAPYRUS SCROLLS AND DESIGNED TO HELP THE DEAD MAKE THE PERILOUS JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFE. THE SHOW SEEKS TO DISPEL THE MODERN NOTION, PARTLY CREATED BY ALL THE TOMBS, MUMMIES AND FUNERAL MASKS, THAT ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WERE OBSESSES WITH DEATH. THE SHOW, WHICH OPENS THURSDAY AND RUNS TO 6.MARCH, IS THE FIRST OF THREE BRITISH MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS LOOKING AT DEATH AND SPIRITUALITY THROUGH THE AGES. A SHOW NEXT YEAR LOOKING AT DEVOTION IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE. THE EGYPTIAN EXHIBITION REVEALS A HIGHLY DEVELOPED SOCIETY WITH A COMPLEX THEOLOGY, AND AN EYE FOR COMMERCE. IT WINDS, LABYRINTH-LIKE, THROUGH THE MUSEUM'S CIRCULAR READING ROOM, MIRRORING THE JOURNEY HUMANS WERE THOUGHT TO TAKE AFTER DEATH. IT WAS A SPIRITUAL OBSTACLE COURSE THAT SAW THE SOUL LEAVE THE MUMMIFIED BODY OF THE DEPARTED AND TRAVEL THROUGH THE NETHER WORLD. THERE IT COULD BE WAYLAID BY SCORCHING FIRES, POISONOUS SNAKES, WILD ANIMALS AND WORST OF ALL THE DEVOURER, A DEMON WITH THE HEAD OF A CROCODILE, THE BODY OF A LION AND THE HINDQUARTERS OF A HIPPOPOTAMUS. THE FINAL OBSTACLE WAS A TRAIL, AT WHICH THE HEART WAS PLACED ON A SET OF SCALES AND WEIGHED AGAINST A FEATHER. A LIGHT HEART MEANT SUCCESSFUL PASSAGE TO THE AFTERLIFE. A HEAVY HEART, WEIGHED DOWN WITH SIN, MEANT BEING THROWN TO THE DEVOURER. THE BOOK'S SPELLS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, DEVELOPED OVER CENTURIES FROM ABOUT 1,500 BC, WERE INTENDED AS A GUIDE TO OVERCOMING THESE OBSTACLES. THERE WERE 200 SPELLS IN ALL, FROM WHICH WEALTHY EGYPTIANS COULD PICK AND CHOOSE FOR THEIR OWN CUSTOM-MADE BOOKS OF THE DEAD. THE EXHIBITION BRINGS TOGETHER SOME OF THE TREASURES FROM THE MUSEUM'S WORLD-FAMOUS COLLECTION OF EGYPTIAN ARTIFACTS. THERE ARE MUMMIES, GILDED FUNERAL MASKS AND CEDAR COFFINS COLOURFULLY DECORATED IN RED AND BLUE. THE STAR OBJECTS ARE THE SCROLLS THEMSELVES, LONG ROLLS OF PAPYRUS COVERED WITH NEAT BLACK AND RED HIEROGLYPHIC COLUMNS AND ILLUSTRATED WITH SCENES OF THE AFTERLIFE. THEY WERE ROLLED UP AND PLACED ALONGSIDE MUMMIES IN THEIR COFFINS. SPELLS ALSO WERE INSCRIBED ON COFFIN WALLS. MUMMIES' SHROUDS AND EVEN THEIR LINEN BANDAGES. FRAGILE AND EASILY DAMAGED BY LIGHT, THE SCROLLS ARE RARELY DISPLAYED. THE LONGEST, A 120 FOOT SCROLL MADE FOR THE DAUGHTER OF A HIGH PRIEST ABOUT 3,000 YEARS AGO, HAS NEVER BEEN SHOWN IN PUBLIC BEFORE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.britishmuseum.org

BRITISH MUSEUM PRESENTS EXHIBITION ON EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

DISCOVER AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION'S FASCINATING APPROACH TO LIFE AND THE AFTERLIFE AT THE EGYPT EXPERIENCE: SECRETS OF THE TOMB, A NEW EXHIBITION AT THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART (TMA). THE INSTALLATION OF MORE THAN 150 OBJECTS SPANNING 3,000 YEARS OF HISTORY ARE ON DISPLAY IN A SPECIALLY DESIGNED LOWER LEVEL EGYPTIAN GALLERY IN THE MAIN MUSEUM. TMA'S POPULAR MUMMIES RETURN TO PUBLIC VIEW FOR THIS EXPLORATION OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BELIEFS ABOUT LIFE AND THE AFTERLIFE. BELIEVING THAT IF THEY LIVED GOOD LIVES THEY WOULD LIVE AGAIN IN A BETTER WORLD AFTER DEATH, EGYPTIANS SPENT GREAT EFFORT TO ENSURE THE PRESERVATION OF BOTH BODY AND SPIRIT. TOMBS WERE BUILT AS 'HOUSES OF ETERNITY', PLACES FOR LIVING AFTER DEATH WITH THE AID OF RITUAL PRAYERS, FOOD AND DRINK, AND ALL THE GOOD THINGS OF LIFE. THE EGYPT EXPERIENCE: SECRETS OF THE TOMB INTRODUCES VISITORS TO THE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD THAT FORMED A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF LIFE IN EGYPT FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. SPECIALLY BUILT CHAPELS AND TOMB-LIKE SPACES DISPLAY ARTIFACTS FROM THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES AND FINAL RESTING PLACES OF BOTH ROYAL AND NON-ROYAL EGYPTIANS. VISITORS MEET A SERIES OF INDIVIDUAL EGYPTIANS AND LEARN ABOUT THEM FROM THE EVIDENCE OF THEIR TOMBS, MUMMIES, INSCRIBED BIOGRAPHERS AND PERSONAL POSSESSIONS. AMONG THEM ARE: COURT OFFICIAL AKHET-HOTEP, OVERSEER OF THE PALACE OF KING SNEFERU; RARAMU, PRIEST OF THE MORTUARY CULT OF KING KHUFU, AND HIS WIFE ANKHET; ZEZEN-NAKHT, HEREDITARY PRINCESS AND OVERSEER OF THE ARMY OF THE NINTH NOME; THE ROYAL PHYSICIAN AMUNHOTEP, CHIEF PHYSICIAN AND ROYAL SCRIBE OF KING RAMSES II; HENUT-WEDJEBU, SINGER IN THE TEMPLE OF AMUN AND HER HUSBAND HATIAY, GRANARY OVERSEER OF THE TEMPLE OF ATEN; AND TAMESIA, DAUGHTER OF TASHENANOUP, WHO WAS BURIED BY HER MOTHER. ELEGANTLY CARVED AND PAINTED SCULPTURES, THE COFFIN OF THE LADY ANKH-TESH, A BOAT MODEL, CANOPIC JARS, SHABTIS, AND BEAUTIFUL YET HEART-RENDERING GRAVE GIFTS ARE DISPLAYED IN THE DRAMATIC SERIES OF GALLERIES. OBJECTS FROM THE MUSEUM'S OWN ANTIQUITIES COLLECTION, ENHANCED BY BEAUTIFUL AND SIGNIFICANT LOANS FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUMS, THE FIELD MUSEUM AND THE ORIENTAL MUSEUM INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, AMONG OTHERS, REVEAL THE SECRETS OF THE TOMB.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.toledomuseum.org

TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART PRESENTS EGYPT EXPERIENCE: SECRETS OF THE TOMB

DISCOVER AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION'S FASCINATING APPROACH TO LIFE AND THE AFTERLIFE AT THE EGYPT EXPERIENCE: SECRETS OF THE TOMB, A NEW EXHIBITION AT THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART (TMA). THE INSTALLATION OF MORE THAN 150 OBJECTS SPANNING 3,000 YEARS OF HISTORY ARE ON DISPLAY IN A SPECIALLY DESIGNED LOWER LEVEL EGYPTIAN GALLERY IN THE MAIN MUSEUM. TMA'S POPULAR MUMMIES RETURN TO PUBLIC VIEW FOR THIS EXPLORATION OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BELIEFS ABOUT LIFE AND THE AFTERLIFE. BELIEVING THAT IF THEY LIVED GOOD LIVES THEY WOULD LIVE AGAIN IN A BETTER WORLD AFTER DEATH, EGYPTIANS SPENT GREAT EFFORT TO ENSURE THE PRESERVATION OF BOTH BODY AND SPIRIT. TOMBS WERE BUILT AS 'HOUSES OF ETERNITY', PLACES FOR LIVING AFTER DEATH WITH THE AID OF RITUAL PRAYERS, FOOD AND DRINK, AND ALL THE GOOD THINGS OF LIFE. THE EGYPT EXPERIENCE: SECRETS OF THE TOMB INTRODUCES VISITORS TO THE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD THAT FORMED A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF LIFE IN EGYPT FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. SPECIALLY BUILT CHAPELS AND TOMB-LIKE SPACES DISPLAY ARTIFACTS FROM THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES AND FINAL RESTING PLACES OF BOTH ROYAL AND NON-ROYAL EGYPTIANS. VISITORS MEET A SERIES OF INDIVIDUAL EGYPTIANS AND LEARN ABOUT THEM FROM THE EVIDENCE OF THEIR TOMBS, MUMMIES, INSCRIBED BIOGRAPHERS AND PERSONAL POSSESSIONS. AMONG THEM ARE: COURT OFFICIAL AKHET-HOTEP, OVERSEER OF THE PALACE OF KING SNEFERU; RARAMU, PRIEST OF THE MORTUARY CULT OF KING KHUFU, AND HIS WIFE ANKHET; ZEZEN-NAKHT, HEREDITARY PRINCESS AND OVERSEER OF THE ARMY OF THE NINTH NOME; THE ROYAL PHYSICIAN AMUNHOTEP, CHIEF PHYSICIAN AND ROYAL SCRIBE OF KING RAMSES II; HENUT-WEDJEBU, SINGER IN THE TEMPLE OF AMUN AND HER HUSBAND HATIAY, GRANARY OVERSEER OF THE TEMPLE OF ATEN; AND TAMESIA, DAUGHTER OF TASHENANOUP, WHO WAS BURIED BY HER MOTHER. ELEGANTLY CARVED AND PAINTED SCULPTURES, THE COFFIN OF THE LADY ANKH-TESH, A BOAT MODEL, CANOPIC JARS, SHABTIS, AND BEAUTIFUL YET HEART-RENDERING GRAVE GIFTS ARE DISPLAYED IN THE DRAMATIC SERIES OF GALLERIES. OBJECTS FROM THE MUSEUM'S OWN ANTIQUITIES COLLECTION, ENHANCED BY BEAUTIFUL AND SIGNIFICANT LOANS FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUMS, THE FIELD MUSEUM AND THE ORIENTAL MUSEUM INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, AMONG OTHERS, REVEAL THE SECRETS OF THE TOMB.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.toledomuseum.org

TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART PRESENTS EGYPT EXPERIENCE: SECRETS OF THE TOMB

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNEARTHED THE UPPER PART OF A DOUBLE LIMESTONE STATUE OF A POWERFUL PHARAOH WHO RULED NEARLY 3,400 YEARS AGO, EGYPT'S MINISTRY OF CULTURE SAID. A MINISTRY STATEMENT SAID THE TEAM OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED THE 4 FOOT BY 3 FOOT STATUE OF AMENHOTEP III IN KOM EL-HITTAN, THE SITE OF THE PHARAOH'S MORTUARY TEMPLE IN THE SOUTHERN CITY OF LUXOR. THE TEMPLE IS ONE OF THE LARGEST ON THE WEST BANK OF THE NILE IN LUXOR. THAT STATUE PORTRAYS AMENHOTEP III WEARING THE DOUBLE CROWN OF EGYPT, WHICH IS DECORATED WITH URAEUS, AND SEATED ON A THRONE NEXT TO THE THEBAN GOD AMUN. AMENHOTEP III, WHO WAS THE GRANDFATHER OF THE FAMED BOY-PHARAOH TUTANKHAMEN, RULED IN THE 14th CENTURY BC AT THE HEIGHT OF EGYPT'S NEW KINGDOM AND PRESIDED OVER A VAST EMPIRE STRETCHING FROM NUBIA IN THE SOUTH TO SYRIA IN THE NORTH. THE PHARAOH'S TEMPLE WAS LARGELY DESTROYED, POSSIBLY BY FLOODS, AND LITTLE REMAINS OF ITS WALLS. BUT ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO UNEARTH A WEALTH OF ARTIFACTS AND STATUARY IN THE BURIED RUINS, INCLUDING TWO STATUES OF AMENHOTEP MADE OF BLACK GRANITE FOUND AT THE SITE IN MARCH 2009.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNEARTHED A STATUE OF AMENHOTEP III