Customer Reviews

Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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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

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.

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.

IF YOU WANT TO VISIT THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM IN CAIRO BUT FIND IT INCONVENIENT TO GET THERE THIS IS THE SECOND BEST WAY TO VIEW THE OBJECTS. THE COLOR PRINTS ARE AS GOOD AS CAN BE PRINTED AND THE DETAIL IN DESCRIPTION IS VERY HELPFUL. I HAVE A LIBRARY AND THIS IS THE BEST AND MOST DETAILED BOOK I HAVE SEEN IN YEARS WRITTEN ON ARTIFACTS FOUND IN EGYPT. 5 STARS !!!

This is definitely a cheaper way of seeing the museum in Cairo! When I went to Egypt last fall, we spent an afternoon in the museum. People could spend days in there and see new things. It is so packed full of artifacts that we could only stand to be in there for a few hours. Our brains could only absorb so much! This book is a good way to go back and learn about all of the things that we saw.
The pictures are large and unbelievably clear. I would recommend this book to everyone! Of course, I would also recommend a trip to Cairo...

There are many books on the subject of Ancient Egpytian artifacts. This is without doubt one of the finest. The quality of the reproductions is of the highest calibre and the accompanying text illuminating and engaging. The Cairo Museum is custodian of a priceless heritage, both for the people of modern Egypt and the rest of humanity. Thanks to this volume, those of us who are not able to journey to Cairo can have a glimpse of the treasures they hold. I would love to see more editions of this type, highlighting particular sections of the collection.

Reading the KMT magazine I came accross a review about this book. I had to have it. For years now I love all about ancient Egypte. Allready was there twice. The museum is spectacular in all aspects: being old and dusty and for the spectacular things you can see! Thats why I had to have this book. And I'm not disappointed! The photo's are really spectactular and I like very much the essays. A book you must have. I friend of mine saw it and said the same: I must have this. When you love Egypt: BUY! Joke Boersma

Usually books that feature full-page close-up photos are merely trying to mask their appaling lack of essense. Not so with the Egyptian Treasures - it is an excellent (albeit a bit too pricy) compilation of egyptian art and artifacts from all eras - from pre-dynastic to Roman. Although a full chronology would have helped greately (or if the images were arranged in order of decreasing age), the images easily offset this moderately annoying error. However, like noted above, the book is a pleasure for the brain as well as the eyes - almost all objects are accompinied with a brief description and historic data (somewhat like the Simon and Schuster's Encyclopedia series). I find that another thing which would have helped greately would be the listing of where exactly this each object was found (site/room number/quadrant), just because the Archaeological Catalogue Number Listings isn't always the most convenient thing underhand. As a resource book of what the humanity is capable of creating, or just what the Egyptians managed to do within their 3000-odd years, this is an excellent work. If you are thinkng of buying this for as some sort of history reference, it's not the best choice.

This display in such excellent color directly complements my visit to the museum. The color plates make one wish to be disolved into the pages to re-live the experience of being there. An excellent reference or talk piece.

The book itself is outstanding, a huge "coffee-table" format with dazzling photos of the artifacts in the Egyptian museum. As far as packaging, the book could have been floated down the Nile and dragged across the Sahara, and still arrived in pristine condition. I would not hesitate for one second to purchase again from this seller. Harry B. Windsor, ON Canada