Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, Berlin

Book excerpt: The Egyptian Museum collection in Berlin is one of the world's great collections 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 expeditions in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During the Cold War the works were divided between East and West, but they have since been reunited 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. AUTHOR: Professor Dietrich Wildung is a world expert on Ancient Egypt and Sudan. Until 2009 he was the Director of the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, Berlin. 150 colour illustrations