The Egyptian antiquities museums have announced the featured artefacts for the month of July. These artefacts offer a unique glimpse into the rich history and culture of Egypt, from the ancient world to the present day.
As a monthly tradition, Egyptian antiquities museums nationwide have chosen featured pieces for July. The selection was made through a public poll on the museums’ social media pages, in keeping with the museums’ mission to promote tourism and archaeological awareness among all segments of society.
Professor Moamen Othman, Head of the Museums Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that many of the public chose a group of artefacts that shed light on the Hajj season and the covering of the Holy Kaaba, in celebration of the blessed Eid Al-Adha and the rituals of Hajj.
Islamic Art Museum:
This museum exhibits a ceramic painting from the Ottoman era that was painted underglaze. It depicts the Grand Mosque in Makkah Al-Mukarramah and its surrounding minarets and arcades with domes.
Coptic Museum:
The Coptic Museum displays the pilgrimage icon, a painting drawn on canvas, which Christian pilgrims used to take with them as a souvenir after completing the pilgrimage season at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This type of icon deals with a group of topics, including stories from the Bible, stories from the life of the Virgin Mary, the disciples, and some biographies of saints.
Sharm El-Sheikh Museum:
This museum presents a limestone funeral stele for the supreme leader of the Thebes region, “Antif”, during the era of the slow transition. It depicts the social status he enjoyed during his life and scenes of offerings and sacrifices made by servants.
Royal Jewelry Museum:
The Royal Jewelry Museum shows the exterior of a silver photo album in the shape of a Qur’an that King Farouk owned. The album is embellished with ornamental illustrations, inlaid with coloured enamel, and set with diamonds, rubies, and turquoise stones.
Farouk Corner Museum in Helwan:
This museum displays a watercolour painting that represents a panorama of the most important monuments of Cairo. In the middle of the scene, it shows the celebration of the procession of the loader, where the howdah, which carries the covering of the Holy Kaaba, is wrapped in the streets of Cairo, surrounded by the flags and banners of the Sufi orders.
The National Police Museum in the Fort:
The National Police Museum displays a statue of the idol Osiris, the god of the other world. The ancient Egyptians made a pilgrimage every year to Abydos, the centre of the cult of Osiris, and the scene of the pilgrimage trip to Abydos was one of the most important scenes that the ancient Egyptians were keen to record in his tomb.
Manial Palace Museum:
This museum displays part of the inner covering of the Holy Kaaba, which is made of red silk and displays inscriptions in curved lines from the Holy Qur’an.
Royal Vehicles Museum in Cairo:
The Royal Vehicles Museum displays a canary covering the Holy Kaaba, made of black silk, embossed with embossed verses of the Qur’an, and decorated with wires of silver.
Geyer Anderson Museum:
This museum displays a decorative metal dish from Cretan mythology representing the story of the sacrifice.
Cairo International Airport Museum 2:
This museum displays a funerary stele made of coloured limestone from the First Intermediate Period of “Shadt F” and his wife “Brit”. It is inscribed with a formula of offering offerings to the god Osiris, who was on a pilgrimage to the ancient Egyptians.
Cairo International Airport Museum 3:
This museum displays a 3D model depicting a person preparing mutton from the Tagui tomb in the El-Assasif area, Luxor.
Suez National Museum:
This museum displays a sandstone funerary stele for a person named “Neb-En-Nsu” and a person named “Amenhotep”. The two deceased appear in the upper part of the stela as they make offerings in front of the idol Osiris and in front of the idol Anubis. In the lower part of the painting, their children, males and females, appear, carrying various offerings.
Ismailia Antiquities Museum:
This museum shows a limestone statue of a ram with two horns curled downward, the body covered with a recessed fur coat.
Tanta Antiquities Museum:
The Tanta Antiquities Museum displays a model of a wooden boat from the late era, which was used in the pilgrimage of the god Osiris in Abydos.
Alexandria National Museum:
This museum displays a painting from the tomb of the worker Amenmobet from Deir el-Medina. It’s divided into two parts; the upper part represents the process of burning incense by the king in front of the ceremonial procession of the god Amun, while the lower part shows a person kneeling in front of him with seven columns of hieroglyphic lines. The kneeling person is Amenmobet, and the painting dates back to the modern state – the nineteenth dynasty – the beginning of the rule of King Ramesses II.
Matrouh Archaeological Museum:
This museum displays a limestone stela with a view of the governors of the regions bearing offerings. On the left of the inscription shows a large offering table.
Tell Basta Museum:
The Tell Basta Museum displays a table for offerings made of limestone, with pictures of sacrificial animals such as meat, fish, and others.
Hurghada Museum:
This museum displays a limestone stele of a woman called “Hotep de Nesu” with a deep inscription of the offering formulas. At the bottom of the stele is a scene depicting the slaughter of the sacrifice.
Kafr El-Sheikh Museum:
This museum displays a model of a wooden boat with its sailing crew.
Kom Oshim Archaeological Museum in Fayoum:
This museum displays a large vase from the Islamic era made of porcelain, with floral motifs and Surat Al-Fatihah on one side and on the other side a description of the Messenger (Peace be upon him).
Malwa Museum:
This museum displays a bronze statue of the idol Osiris, standing from bronze, dating back to the Greco-Roman era.
Sohag National Museum:
This museum displays a funerary stele made of limestone with a round top, on which the owner of the stele, called “Sahetep-pre”, appears. He was one of the senior statesmen in the era of King Senusret III of the Middle Kingdom. His painting is one of the most important primary sources for describing the pilgrimage to Abydos.
Mummification Museum in Luxor:
This museum shows a mummy of a mummified ram covered with a linen cloth. On the front is a mask of gilded cartonnage. It was found in the excavations of Elephantine Island.
Luxor Museum:
This museum displays a ram’s head on a column capital in the shape of a lotus flower made of quartzite. It dates back to the New Kingdom era.
New Valley Antiquities Museum:
This museum displays a mummy of a ram wrapped in scrolls with drawings of some mechanisms from the Greco-Roman era.
