The Met

Since I have dedicated the posts this month to New York City, this week we are going to the museum and not just any museum but the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the largest museum in the Western Hemisphere. With nearly all the world’s cultures on display it is impossible to see all of the museum in one day.

Upon entering we start with the Tomb of Perneb because Egypt holds a special place in my heart. He lived during the 5th dynasty under the reigns of Isesi and Unis. Perneb means “My Lord has come forth to me”, he was a court official whose function was to robe and crown the king.

From Saqqara, north of Pharaoh Djoser’s step pyramid; this exhibition a gift from Edward S. Harkness, serves to convey to visitor’s the intimacy of Perneb’s court, which was both a private and sacred space.

Sekhmet, do you know why you always have to have two statues of Sekhmet? She is so temperamental you never know whether she is in a good or bad mood; so you keep two in hopes that if one is in a bad mood the other is in a good mood.

On papyrus this depiction of a subject bearing gifts for the queen was incredibly well-preserved, the colors have probably not changed much since it was first created.

Ah Bast, one of my very favorite goddesses, I joke that she favors me because for the longest time kitties kept showing up on my door and I would have to foster them and find them homes.

This display made me laugh because it reminded me because it made me think of Sesame Street’s song “One of these kids is doing their own thing, one of these kids is not the same…”.

Canopic Jars were used to store the lungs, liver, stomach and intestines of Egyptian mummies; the heart was considered to be the seat of the soul so it was left inside the body.

Ra, the Egyptian sun-god, identified primarily with the mid-day sun. It was believed that Ra created all life forms, calling them into existence by whispering their secret names; however, humans were created from his sweat and tears. This is only one representation of his variety of forms.

Since the sun set here long ago, I am going to sleep but we will soon continue our journey.