Cairo Egyptian Museum

   Established in 1862 by the Egyptian ruler Said at the request of Auguste Mariette, the head of the Antiquities Service, and opened at Bulaq in October 1863. It houses and preserves the largest and finest number of Egyptian antiquities in the world. The museum was filled with objects from Mariette’s excavations and subsequent work by Egyptian and foreign archaeologists. It supervised the division of antiquities agreed upon with foreign excavators and kept all important pieces in Egypt. In 1891, the museum was moved to Giza, and in 1902 it was again relocated to its present site in Cairo. Alarge selection of objects acquired in the 19th century and the early 20th century were published in a series of catalogs by international scholars. Masterpieces in the collection include the Narmer Palette, the statues of Khafre and Menkaure from Giza, royal jewelry from Dahshur, the Tutankhamun treasures, and the finds from the royal tombsat Tanis. Anew museum is slated for construction in Giza.

   See also Berlin Egyptian Museum; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; British Museum; Louvre Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Turin Egyptian Museum.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier