The Egyptian Museum (1)
http://touregypt.net/egyptmuseum/egyptian_museum.htm

Location:Cairo, Egypt
Description: The Egyptian Museum was first built in Boulak. In 1891, it was moved to Giza Palace of "Ismail Pasha" which housed the antiquities that were later moved to the present building. The Egyptian Museum is situated at Tahrir square in Cairo. It was built during the reign of Khedive Abbass Helmi II in 1897, and opened on November 15, 1902.  It has 107 halls. At the ground floor there are the huge statues. The upper floor houses small statues, jewels, Tutankhamon treasures and the mummies.

Overview and Establishment:

The Egyptian government established the ‘Service des Antiques de l’Egypte’ in 1835 mainly to halt the plundering of archeological sites and to arrange the exhibition of the collected artifacts owned by the government. The Azbakian garden inCairo was first used as a storage place for these artifacts.The collections was later transferred to another building in the citadel of Saladin.

In 1858, a museum was prepared at Bulaq, its contents collected by the French archeologist August Mariette. In 1880, the contents of the Bulaq museum were transferred to an annex of theGiza palace of Ismail pasha, the ruler of Egypt. The present museum was built in 1900, in the neo-classical style by the French architect Marcel Dourgnon.

The mummies of some pharaohs of the 18 to 20th Dynasty found inThebes.  The first group was found in Deir el Bahari cachette and these consist of the mummies of: Seqenenre, Ahmose I, Amenhotep I, Tuthmosis I, Tuthmosis II, Tuthmosis III, Seti I, Ramses II, Ramses III.The other group was found in the tomb of Amenhotep II, consisting of the mummies of: Amenhotep II, Tuthmosis IV, Amenhotep III, Merenptah, Seti II, Siptah, Ramses IV, Ramses V, Ramses VI, (and three women and achild.)

This museum exhibits over 120000 objects, some of the important groups of these objects are: Artifacts from the tombs of kings and members of the royal families of the Middle Kingdom found at Dahshur in 1894.
The contents of the royal tombs of Tuthmosis III, Tuthmosis IV, Amenhotep III and Horemheb and the tomb of Yuya and Thuya.  Artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamen, consisting of more than 3500 Pieces, of which 1700 objects are displayed in the museum (the rest are in storerooms).Objects from some royal and private tombs at Tanis (in the Delta) dating from the 21st and 22nd Dynasties.Artifacts from the Amarna period made for Akhenaton and members of his family and some high officials. These were found in Tell el Amarna, Hermopolis,Thebes and Memphis between 1912 and 1933.

The Museum also comprises a photography section and a largelibrary. The Egyptian museum comprises many sections arranged in chronological order

The first section houses Tutankhamen's treasures.

The second section houses the pre-dynasty and the Old Kingdom monuments.

The third section houses the first intermediate period and the Middle Kingdom monuments.

The forth section houses the monuments of the Modern Kingdom.

The fifth section houses the monuments of the late period and the Greek and Roman periods.

The sixth section houses coins and papyrus.

The seventh section houses sarcophagi.

A hall for the royal mummies was opened at the museum, housing eleven kings and queens.
More than a million and half tourists visit the museum annually, in addition to half a million Egyptians.

The Tut Collection

When Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen, he remarked that it was, "the day of days, the most wonderful that I have ever lived through, and certainly one whose like I can never hope to see again".  However, the collection is yet to be completely documented, and it took some ten years for Howard Carter to finish excavating the tomb.
There is probably no more famous group of artifacts in the world then those associated with the discovery of young King Tutankhamen's tomb.  The collection has traveled the world, setting attendance records most anywhere that it may be found.  While its current permanent housing is in the basement of theEgyptianMuseum in Cairo, it will soon be moved to a new down town location.

Furniture and Boxes

Wood chest veneered in ivory with painted sides and top

 Funerary bed in the form of cheetahs made of wood with gold overlay

Folding ivory headrest

Wooden cartouche shaped box

Ankh shaped wooden mirror box

Tutankhamen's gold throne (wood with gold Leif)

Wood chair with gilded panels

Gold, perfume box shaped as two cartouches