Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo [Hardcover]

Francesco Tiradritti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo houses the world's most celebrated collection of Egyptian antiquities. For the first time, this vast heritage is revealed in all its unparalleled glory ill hundreds of magnificent full-color photographs -- including many breathtaking close-ups and details -- and texts by some of the world's leading Egyptologists. Alongside the legendary treasures of Tutankhamun are some of the most impressive examples of Egyptian sculpture, wall paintings, and decorative art from the pyramid complexes of Giza, Saqqara, and Dahshur, the royal necropolis of Thebes, and the Temple of Karnak, among other fascinating sites. From the finest jewelry to the most imposing statues, every artifact is captured in startling clarity -- with special lighting techniques that evoke, as never before, the awe and wonder inspired by these fabulous ancient treasures.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Written by British curator Malek (In the Shadow of the Pyramids: Egypt During the Old Kingdom), Egyptian Art is another in Phaidon's solid "Art & Ideas" series. It follows the tradition of other titles in The other three titles were published to coincide with the international traveling exhibition "Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramid," seen recently at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (MOMA). When the Pyramids Were Built is a streamlined version of the official catalog. With no index, it will not be a first choice for reference, but Arnold (the curator of the Egyptian department at MOMA) provides a well-written and very accessible text. Its readability, combined with the quality of the photographs and the modest price, makes this an excellent purchase for most public libraries. The 25 internationally respected Egyptologists who contributed to Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids provide a valuable look at recent developments in the field. In particular, the redating of many artifacts results in a very different view of the artistic trends of the period. The profuse illustrations vary in quality, but their sheer number, added to the high-level scholarship of the text and the three detailed indexes (general, sites, and owners of the artifacts), makes this an important book for all academic and most medium and large public libraries. Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo covers a much greater time span than the other three titles. The text, written by a virtual who's who in Egyptology, is a bit uneven--as is usually the case with so many authors. However, all of the text is comprehensible, and some of it (such as the argument that Tutankhamun was not murdered) is fascinating. Unfortunately, there is no index, but the layout is chronological, giving some hope of finding specific artifacts. The real treasure of the book lies in Araldo De Luca's stunning photographs. Often, De Luca sees with his camera's eye things that few visitors would notice. The book's large trim allows for many life-size illustrations, and at all times the illustrations do justice to a phenomenal collection. Highly recommended for all academic and most public libraries.
-Mary Morgan Smith, Northland P.L., Pittsburgh
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

...appealing, with artfully arranged photographs and illustrations, and an entertaining introduction by Tiradritti on how the museum came to exist. -- The New York Times Book Review, Suzanne MacNeille

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810932768
• ISBN-13: 978-0810932760
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 1.4 x 14.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Egyptian-artifact photo book I've seen. Don't miss it. September 4, 2000

By Peter D. Tillman VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

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I don't know about you, but when I get a big photo book, I thumb through the photos first, then go back and look at them individually, and read the text last, if at all -- skim it, usually. So -- the photos here are magnificent! Color printing has gotten pretty close to photographic quality in the last few years, and you won't find better-quality color than in "Egyptian Treasures." Book design (by PB Lovisetti & C. Zanotti) is clean and attractive. Bravo!

The artifacts, all from Cairo's Egyptian Museum, span some 4,000 years -- and for 3,000 years, from the First Dynasty to the Roman conquest, their artistic conventions stayed pretty much the same -- enough so that almost any artwork from this period is, even at a casual glance, obviously 'Egyptian.'

Anyway, if you're over 12, and have been to any fair-size art or archaeological museum, you've seen some mummies, coffins and statues, probably some jewelry and woodwork too -- not to mention pictures of the Pyramids and King Tut's gold. But, unless you've been to dozens of Egyptian collections, you've never seen the range of first-rate art displayed here -- unless, of course, you've already been to Cairo. Makes me want to go out & buy a ticket to Egypt. Some of this stuff is just astonishing. The jewelry is (often) 'Art-Deco', not by coincidence, since much of this material was unearthed in the early 20th century. And if you've only seen the knock-offs, wait til you see the originals! There are wall-paintings that, if they didn't have papyrus plants, you'd think were Chinese. And the little painted wood-carvings, with marvelous scenes from everyday life -- and with colors so bright, they could have been your grandmother's, instead of being 4,000 years old. There's a lot to be said for using the desert for cemeteries....

The text is by 16 (or so) specialists, and ranges from pretty good to instant eye-glaze. You don't buy this kind of book for the text. Fortunately, the photo captions are uniformly good. Complaints: no map, and no index! C'mon, folks -- we don't all know where Tanis is, or Zagazig. And we might want to find out, later, who Muhammad Ali (1769-1849) *really*was....

Happy reading--
Pete Tillman

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great lavish book! December 14, 1999

By achmal

Format:Hardcover

This book will serve as a perennial reference for anyone interested in ancient egyptian art. There are three notable features. Firstly, different sections are authored by experts in their respective field of study. Secondly, the photographs are lavishly presented with detailed full page close-ups. Third; each featured item has a catalogue no. and brief technical data as an entry point into a descriptive essay of the item. The photos are of immaculately high quality, a wonderful resource for illustrators, jewellery designers and the like. I have never seen Egyptian art pieces reproduced with such high quality in other books on this same topic. This feature puts this book head and shoulders above the rest.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 10 stars is the correct rating ! June 14, 2000

By Francesca Jourdan

Format:Hardcover

This book presents the collection of Egyptian antiquities located in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo; each featured object is accompanied by a short description and a photograph. The photographs, never before published, were expressly made for the book by internationally acclaimed photographer Araldo De Luca. The numerous essays were written by international contributors, among which are Francesco Tiradritti, Christiane Ziegler, Zahi Hawass, Jean Yoyotte and Anna Maria Donadoni Roveri; they cover topics such as Egyptian art, history, the Valley of the Kings and Tutankhamun. Art lovers will thoroughly enjoy this beautiful and informative guide, now available in many languages.