With the opening of the Neues Museum on Berlin's Museum Island after seven decades of ruin, the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin have undergone a
magnificent rebirth. These great collections, which enjoy a unique international status, are now shown within a brand-new design concept that works in harmony with David Chipperfield's
acclaimed restoration of the historic building.
Many large groups of works are on display for the first time since 1939: three complete burial chambers from the Old Kingdom, rich in pictorial diversity; the huge relief cycles from the
pyramid complex of Sahure and the sun temple in Abu Gurob; and the monumental sarcophagi of the Late Period with their mythological representations. For the first time ever the Papyrus
Collection, the manuscripts of which cover five millennia, is presented in a comprehensive display, housed in the historic surroundings of the Niobid Room. Nefertiti sits on her throne in the
spectacular setting of vast domed hall, and the cultures of ancient Sudan are represented for the first time.
This new book presents 100 masterpieces from the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, guiding the reader through the completely redesigned presentation. Fresh insights into Ancient Egypt are
provided thanks to the extensive and revealing new photography and the accompanying texts, which are written by the experts responsible for the concept and presentation of the collection within
the museum: Dietrich Wildung, the director of the Egyptian Museum until 2009, curator Olivia Zorn and papyrologist Fabian Reiter.
