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The collection
The collection contains statues, reliefs, paintings,
decorated mummies, painted mummy coffins and a wealth of tomb
treasures. Among the more than 1800 works the oldest is the
hippopotamus from around 3000 BC. At the other end of the scale is
a mummy portrait from the 1st century AD which clearly reflects
Graeco-Roman influence.
Egyptian Culture
For thousands of years the banks of the Nile have
been settled by human beings: first came primitive hunters and
farmers, later a highly developed civilization which created
pyramids, obelisks, temples and golden tombs.
A single kingdom
Around 3000 BC King Menes united the Nile Valley into
a single kingdom. He fortified the city of Memphis and governed the
country through a network of officials. Later kings took other
cities for their residence, such as Thebes, Ititawi, the City of
Rameses and Sais, and royal power underwent periods of both
strength and weakness. But Egypt remained a monarchy through the
following 3000 years until in 30 BC the Nile Valley became a
province of the Roman Empire.
The works of art
The king and his officials collected taxes in the
form of agricultural produce and manpower, and the colossal
resources were utilised to build temples and tombs. Many monuments
are still extant, because they were built of stone or cut into
subterranean rock. Many are either out in the desert or in rock
shafts, where heat and dryness preserve even the most fragile
materials. Painted works of art display the magnificence of their
original colours even today.
Temples and tombs
In Egypt art was a magic tool. The pictures in the
temples and tombs were silent rituals which were to serve the gods
and the dead. According to belief, the statues took the place of
the living bodies and the pictures were conjurations by means of
which that which was depicted would take place in reality. The
offering scenes would provide the gods and the dead with food and
drink when the offering tables in the temples and tombs were
bare. |
