Recap: When we last saw our intrepid hero, he was heading to the Egyptian Museum as the Berliner Dom was closed for prayers
Dome of the Egyptian Museum building, hearkening to the Pantheon in Rome
The Louvre, Berlin, British Museum, Met and Cairo were identified as the greatest Egyptian museums in the world. So that's 4 down, 1 to go.
On the acquisition in 1920 of the painted bust of Nefertiti: "Ancient Egypt has a new symbolic feature, and the Berlin museums aquire a new identity". I wonder who came out of the deal better.
The narrator of the audioguide actually identified herself - this is the first time I've heard a non-notable personality introduce himself on an audioguide!
Statue of Amenemhet III praying. 1840-00 BC. He was portrayed as being more than human (greater than life sized) yet less than the gods (position of humility)
3 heads of Amenhetet III - 1830, 1840, 1820 BC
Kneeling figure of Sobekhotep V praying, 1750-00 BC
Seated figure of Montemhet 675-50 BC, Seated figure of Chertihotep 1850 BC (from left to right)
The newer one was ironically in a more classical style than the older one
Seated figure of Hetep-ni, 2200 BC
Seated figure of district governor Metjen (2200 BC), Maya (1450 BC)
Standing-striding figure of Per-her-nofret, 2450-2300 BC
Standing-striding figures are a genre unto themselves, and break the laws of anatomy to capture the readiness for action (as opposed to action per se)
Tomb relief: Methethei (Methe??i/Methet??i) and son, 2400 BC
Standing-striding figures, 1900-00 BC
Block statue of Senenmut, 1475 BC
The audio guide was very good.
Instead of having 1 gigantic museum (a la the Louvre, British Museum and essentially the Met), in Berlin the collections are split among different buildings and sub-museums. This is good as it makes it more manageable.
Scribe figure of Dersenedj, 2400 BC
Seated figure of Amenemopet and wife Hathor, 1280 BC
In group statues, Egyptian women take the active role by embracing the man. I'd never noticed this activeness before.
Wall painting from a tomb. Amenhotep I (posthumous worship), 1190-60 BC
Temple relief - Falcon Aten and King Amenhotep IV, 1353 BC
Head of a statue of Queen Tiy with double feather crown
Amenhotep III with Blue Crown, 1360 BC
Statuette of Prince Thutmose on a bier. 1360 BC
It's about the size of my palm, yet it has incredible detail, especially in the 'Ba' on the Prince's chest.
Akhenaten and Nefertiti in front of Aten, 1350 BC
Head of a statue of a Princess, one of the 6 daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, 1345 BC
Portrait bust of Akhenaten, 1340 BC
House altar with Akhenaten, Nefertiti and 3 of their daughters, 1350 BC
Bust of Nefertiti, 1340 BC - the museum's most prized item. Looking at pictures can not compare.
Walk in the garden, 1335 BC
Relief cycle from Tomb of Maya, 1325 BC
Naos (cella) stella of Bak and his wife Tahers, 1350 BC
Model of rowboat with crew, 1900 BC
Tomb relief - Journey on a lotus pond, 2300 BC
Wine vessel with mask of the god Bes, 1360 BC
Part of tomb wall: Amanitenmomide protected by Isis, 1st century AD
From Meroe in Sudan
Tomb relief - Butchering scene, 2350 BC
From Meroe in Sudan
I preferred the Egyptian Museum to the Egyptian collections of the other 3 in the list of Great Egyptian Museums I've seen. Perhaps it was partly due to the excellent (free) audioguide, which I didn't get in the other 3 museums due to the need for an additional fee; yet I also greatly enjoyed stuff the audioguide was silent about. Perhaps it was because I wasn't overwhelmed because the Egyptian collection had its own building and museum. Or maybe it was because only the highlights of the collection were being displayed (there's some renovation work going on).
Oldest wedding contract in the world. 493 BC (according to the audioguide), 535 BC (according to the panel)
Afterlife guides, which you can read the descriptions of.
Mummy masks, 1850 BC - 300 AD. At the foot of the cupboard: parts of mummy cases
Figure of a reclining jackal, 600 BC
Entrails jars, 10-8th century BC - gotta get em all.
Random Mummy. ie I somehow forgot to copy down what this was.
Family burial - Aline and family, 1st half of 1st century AD
Seti I before Osiris, 1290 BC
Gods of Lower Egypt positioned at their cult centres
Nefertem, 290 BC
After the renovation the museum will have a monumental court and be the proposed 4th wing of the Pergamon Museum. I can't wait!
Menats, and descriptions of them
They were selling the book "Moses the Egyptian". Hah!
