Egyptian Museum in Downtown
This is the earliest museum in the Middle East, bearing the largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the world. It houses an enormous collection of artifacts associated with the pre-dynastic periods to the Greek and Roman eras.
It started in 1895 with an international architectural competition won by Marcel Dorneo—the French architect—to design the museum building. Khedive Abbas Hilmi II opened it in 1902.
The museum contains many artifacts and statues, such as the statues of King Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. This statue is considered a group statue of the family of the king, his wife, and his three daughters. The museum also includes the coffin of Mbakah Kawit, the wife of King Mentuhotep II (Nebhepetre), the founder of the Middle Kingdom. The coffin is engraved on the outside with aspects of daily life.
On one side of the coffin, the queen is shown drinking, and in front of her is a table full of food. On the other side, the queen is shown holding a lotus flower, and in front of her is her jewelry box, topped with a view of the jewelry inside it and other engravings.
The museum also contains a group statue of the dwarf Seneb and his family, found inside a naos in his funerary mastaba in Giza, which is the first tomb to have a dome-shaped roof and circular rooms. Seneb is depicted sitting cross-legged, and his wife sits next to him, embracing him affectionately (her hand on his shoulder). She is of normal height.
It was carved in this way to achieve symmetry in the statue. The sculptor depicted Seneb's sons in place of his legs so that he became the same height as his wife. As per the rules of ancient Egyptian art, the two children are depicted with each of them putting their index fingers in their mouths. The boy stands on the left and has a darker skin tone than his sister standing beside him.
The two large statues flanking the main entrance were designed by Ferdinand Weber to represent Upper and Lower Egypt. The foundation stone of the Egyptian Museum was laid by Khedive Abbas II on April 1, 1897.
Gaston Maspero was responsible for the scientific supervision and the task of transporting and displaying the museum's artifacts after construction process.
