Luxor Museum in Egypt
The Luxor Museum is often compared to the Egyptian Museum in the capital for its great value: although it has a smaller number of exhibits, those on display are treated like real treasures and better presented by more careful captions.
The Luxor Museum is located halfway between the Temple of Luxor and the Temple of Karnak and has a simple but elegant structure: a large atrium is on two levels connected by a ramp, to which a side gallery is added, a more recent extension of the museum.
Among the splendid exhibits preserved, you will find the imposing golden head of Hator, the goddess of love from the tomb of Tutankharnon in the Valley of the Kings, the pink granite sculpture of Amenhotep III, builder of the Temple of Luxor, the calcite statue dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, some of Tutankharnon’s funerary furnishings, including his bed, arrows, sandals, bronze rosettes originally applied on the cloth covering the sarcophagus, and two small funerary boats; you will finally admire two busts of Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV, successor of Amenhotep III) and a rebuilt wall with sandstone blocks removed from the temple of Akhenaten in Karnak.
Since its inauguration in 1975, the Luxor Museum of Ancient Art has undergone two major extensions. Conceived under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture in 1962, it was commissioned to design by one of Egypt’s most reputable architects, Mahmud El-Hakim.
The works began in 1964 on land that the Department of Antiquities owned in the Corniche of Luxor, completing its construction in 1969. The installation of pieces began three years later, but due to several and varied delays, its official inauguration was not until December of 1975.
The Luxor Museum, located near the Nile overlooking the west bank and the Theban Necropolis, is situated on the road between the Temple of Luxor and Karnak, an ideal place to house the wonderful works of Theban Pharaonic art.
Its exterior design forms a simple rectangle, with a portico that runs the entire length of the facade facing the Nile. In front, manicured gardens with trees and flowers house a dozen colossal statues and large stone blocks with reliefs. The interior of the museum was initially conceived on two levels for the exhibition of works of art.
With dark gray walls and ceilings and successful artificial lighting, it allows the visitor to visually focus on perfectly lit objects. Two committees of renowned Egyptologists and art professors were the advisers to choose the works of art that should be exhibited to the public.
All the works are of Theban origin and cover more than 4,000 years of history, from the Predynastic period to a few objects from the Islamic period, the most represented part without a doubt being the works of the Middle and New Kingdoms.
First extension for Luxor Museum
In mid-December 1991, a large new hall, designed by Italian architects, was inaugurated to house seventeen of the 24 statues that were found by chance in early 1989 during the restoration work carried out in the courtyard of the Luxor Temple.
Unlike the rest, this new room is completely painted white, and the pieces are presented isolated on both sides and along a symbolic processional avenue that leads to the impressive statue of Amenhotep III, beautifully carved in red quartzite, bearing the double crown. and represented as a cult statue, standing on a sled.
This fabulous find of the so-called cachettefrom Luxor gathered a set of statues, most of them in perfect condition, dating from the time of Tuthmosis III, through the times of Horemheb and Rameses II, until reaching the Low Age.
All of them were carefully buried underground, in the courtyard of the Temple of Luxor, shortly after 300 AD, when the Roman legions turned this area into an important military and religious center.
Second extension
As part of a broad and ambitious program to modernize and create new museums throughout the country, on May 20, 2004, the second extension to the Luxor Museum was officially inaugurated. Designed following the initial guidelines of the museum, the focally illuminated pieces stand out against the dark gray background of the walls, although well labeled, their explanations are somewhat concise for the neophyte and the lack of plans and explanatory texts on Egyptian culture is evident.
These new rooms called as a whole “Thebes Glory Hall” are preferably dedicated as their name indicates, to the time when Thebes reached its maximum splendor, both military and technological during the New Kingdom. The more than 140 pieces arranged in the almost 500 m2 of its rooms give a good account of this.
The piece that presides over the entrance is a magnificently restored statue of Tuthmosis III seated on his throne resting his feet on the “nine arches” that symbolize the traditional enemies of Egyp. This impressive statue was found in the 1970s by the Polish Mission in its chapel at Deir el Bahari and is on display for the first time to the public.
Next to it is the second Kamosis stele from Karnak, where he recounts his struggles and efforts to expel the Hyksos from Egypt. The main gallery is dedicated to the army and you can see a splendid chariot found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, as well as a relief from Saqqara where a workshop is made where chariot wheels and various types of weapons are made.
Next, on a huge block of red granite over 2 meters long, King Amenhotep II can be seen sculpted on a chariot drawn by two galloping horses showing his skill by shooting with his bow. This block was found as filling in the foundations of the third Karnak pylon and had previously been exhibited in the garden of the Luxor Museum, but with its new location and adequate lighting, it is presented in all its renewed splendor.
A display case shows the weapons used by the Egyptian army: axes, bows, arrows, spears, shields, etc. Below are several sculptures such as that of Amenhotep son of Hapu, in his role as the scribe of the recruits, who lived in the time of Amenhotep III; a fantastic statue of Rameses II bearing the double crown carved from the same block of black granite with a large red beta that the sculptor used to carve the crowns; This room is still presided over by a colossal statue of Setos I over 2 m high, made of calcite and previously exhibited in the Cairo Museum. The statue, originally found in the Karnak cachette in 1904, has recently been restored to its new site.
A fragment of a dyad from Horemheb and possibly his first wife is found between the two rooms containing two mummies. This sculptural group was found by the Anglo-German mission led by GT Martin inside the offering chapel of his tomb in Saqqara.
At the time of the discovery, while the figure of his wife was in perfect condition, that of Horemheb was missing the head. Unfortunately, a few years ago, thieves penetrated the Saqqara warehouse where the statue was kept, cutting the statue of Horemheb’s wife at the waist, so that today it is mutilated as can be seen in an exposure. It is to be hoped that the police investigations will be able to restore this magnificent work of art and that those guilty of such an action will be tried.
Two small rooms preserve the two royal mummies that were transferred from the Cairo Museum to the Luxor Museum accompanied by military honors as if they were current presidents of the government.
The supposed mummy of Rameses I was transported on a horse-drawn cart along the avenue of the Rams of Karnak escorted by two lines of soldiers as a military march passes to the jetty where, on a boat, the mummy of Amosis I awaited him, to continue together until its new location in the new rooms of the museum.
In a dimly lit chamber are the remains of King Amosis. Son of Seqenenre-Taa and Queen Ahhotep, he was the founder of the New Kingdom and who finally achieved the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt, thus reestablishing the union of the country and the supremacy of Thebes. His mummy was found in the cachette of Deir el Bahari in 1881.
The other mummy in the museum in the adjoining room is attributed to King Rameses I, although not with complete certainty (Fig. 7). Its identification has created numerous controversies, although there is no doubt that it is a real mummy. This mummy was in the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta (USA) and was returned to Egypt in October 2003 after more than 130 years of exile.
The mummy, which was probably in the Deir el Bahari hideout, was sold in the antique market years before the official discovery of the cachette, and after passing through different owners it finally became part of the collection of the Michel C. Carlos Museum.
Along with the mummies, the magnificent ceremonial dagger and ax made of the gold, electron, and precious stones of King Amosis, as well as the famous gold necklace with the “flies of valor ”Found in the tomb of Queen Ahhotep with her mummy. These objects were offered by her sons Kamosis and Amosis in recognition of the political role played by this queen during the wars of liberation.
The upper floor is accessed using a ramp from the back of the room, where there are a series of magnificent sculptures of characters related to the army and from different parts of the country. A magnificent limestone statue of Nebre, the military chief who was in charge of the surveillance and control of the western frontier under the reign of Rameses II, holding a banner of the goddess Sekhmet and wearing the prestigious necklace of the “gold of the valor ”presented by the king as a prize to the nobles and soldiers who had shown extraordinary courage.
The chief of the Paser archers found at Tell el Hiba, ancient Teudyoi, on the eastern border at the limit of the Thebaid. The magnificent head carved from the crystalline limestone of General Nakhtmin, probably related to the Ay family.
This magnificent head, of unknown provenance, was previously exhibited in the Cairo Museum and although in its current location it recovers all its splendor, it is regrettable that it has been separated from the figure of his anonymous wife, with whom, without a doubt, Nakhtmin’s head formed a wonderful dyad.
At the end of the corridor, a gray granite statue of Rameses VI, represented as the victor of the enemies of Egypt accompanied by his lion, wields an ax while with the other hand he grabs a Libyan prisoner by the hair with his arms tied behind his back.
Regrettably, he was separated from the figure of his anonymous wife, with whom, no doubt, Nakhtmin’s head formed a wonderful dyad. At the end of the corridor, a gray granite statue of Rameses VI, represented as the victor of the enemies of Egypt accompanied by his lion, wields an ax while with the other hand he grabs a Libyan prisoner by the hair with his arms tied behind his back.
Regrettably, he was separated from the figure of his anonymous wife, with whom, no doubt, Nakhtmin’s head formed a wonderful dyad. At the end of the corridor, a gray granite statue of Rameses VI, represented as the victor of the enemies of Egypt accompanied by his lion, wields an ax while with the other hand he grabs a Libyan prisoner by the hair with his arms tied behind his back.
On the upper floor, you can see three fragments of statues of the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, one of which is of colossal proportions. There follows a series of statues dedicated to private figures also related to military life.
The first is one of the famous statues of Amenhotep son of Hapu represented seated as a scribe, who began his long career as a civil servant as a scribe for the recruits at the court of Amenhotep III in Thebes, reaching the highest positions of the State, enduring his reputation and wisdom beyond his death being finally divinized.
During his life, he was the beneficiary of royal favor by building a funerary temple on the west bank of Thebes in the place reserved for kings, as well as being able to deposit his statues in the Great Temple of Amun in Karnak,
Further on, a cube statue of the royal herald and army officer, Iamunedyeh, who would later hold high positions in the country’s administration, being also as head of the works, the person in charge of supervising the erection of six obelisks under the orders of Tutmosis III.
Next, a beautiful statue of the head of the works at the Rameseo, Ameneminet in a beggar attitude, seated behind a great sistrum of Hathor; It is followed by a beautiful fragment of a limestone block depicting a military parade in the time of Tutankhamun, with the colors almost intact found in the Karnak temple.
The painted stoneware statue of an anonymous character from Qau el Kebir and previously exhibited in the museum. A splendid statue of the nobleman Tjay, in charge of the stables of King Amenhotep III, Carved in ebony wood, it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful works of art of the 18th dynasty. Her attitude, her face, her eyes, her wig with fine curls, the pleats of her dress, etc. make this piece a masterpiece of Egyptian art.
Below are a series of statues and objects related to writing and architecture: the architect May who served under Rameses II and Merneptah; the intendant and architect Senenmut, the scribe Ramesesnajt, etc. Palettes, paints, measuring instruments, working tools, ostraca showing sketches, plans of houses and graves, etc.
In a nearby display case, you can see a series of carved wooden boat models, illustrating navigation during the New Kingdom, one of them, found in the tomb of Amenhotep II. Beyond that, a splendid statue of Rameses III, the first fragments of which had been found in 1930 and together with new ones recently found in the temple of Rameses III in the Mut precinct at Karnak, has been wonderfully restored bringing together the more than thirty fragments.
Finally, a ramp leads to the lower floor where the exit is located, but not before, in a space dedicated to the latest finds made in the Luxor area, to contemplate the most interesting “master’s table” found by the Spanish Mission in Dra Abu the Naga directed by José Manuel Galán, where among the many discoveries of the mission is this magnificent piece of stuccoed wood, broken into several fragments, where on one side and the left half you can see the silhouette of two representations of a pharaoh of the front, one of them made by the teacher and the other by the student traced on a grid.
On the right side, three copies of an ancient text, one of which is made by the master and the other two by the apprentice. On the back, also on a red grid,
Although the Luxor Museum was already considered one of the most modern and best designed in all of Egypt, today with its new extension it is undoubtedly a must-see for all travelers.
