Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, Berlin

The Egyptian Museum collection in Berlin is one of the world’s great collection of antiquities from Ancient Egypt. Among its many masterpieces is the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti, the internationally celebrated object star of the collection. The collection’s origins were in the 1698 purchase of the antiquities assembled by Giovanni Pietro Bellori, and it was greatly augmented by exhibitions in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During the Cold War the works were divided between East and West but they have since been re-united on Berlin’s Museum Island and will now be at the heart of the rebuilt Neues Museum that opens in October 2009 for the first time since World War Two. Featuring beautiful all-new photography, an authoritative text and stunning new design, this book works equally well as a guide to a great museum collection or as an illustrated general introduction to the world of ancient Egypt.