Out of the basement By Nevine El-Aref A sandstone portrait of the goddess Mut, a torso of Ramses II, and three busts of Akhenaten are the latest treasures to be retrieved from the store-rooms of Cairo Museum. "The first object that drew our attention was a crystalline limestone face of the goddess Mut," said Mohamed Saleh, director-general of the Egyptian Museum, who explained that the museum's administration decided this summer to take a good look at the collection stored in its basement. "It was a fine piece, worthy of restoration. After 15 days of work, having studied the size and characteristics of the piece, archaeologists realised that it belonged to a headless statue of Mut at the entrance of Amenhotep III's solar court in Luxor temple. The face and body of the goddess have now been united and the statue remains in its original location, protecting the hall of Amenhotep III." Another item that had long languished in the basement was a gray granite torso which proved to belong to a bust of Ramses II, actually on display in the New Kingdom section of the museum on the ground floor. Its provenance is unknown. But now that the two parts have been reassembled, Ramses II, seated on the throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, royally clad with pleated skirt and royal belt inscribed with his titulary, has been chosen as the "piece of the month" for August-September and is now on display in the foyer of the museum. As for the three sandstone busts of Akhenaten retrieved from store-room obscurity, they are currently being restored prior to exhibition in the museum. "But first they will travel to Boston next year where they will be part of a big exhibition entitled The Sun Pharaohs," said Saleh. This year-long exhibition will visit many states in the US before starting a tour of several of Europe's major cities. "The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has agreed to contribute 20 objects, including royal statues of the 18th Dynasty, to this exhibition, as well as six distinctive reliefs known as talatat from Akhenaten's Sun Temple in Karnak. The Sun Temple was dismantled and the inscribed blocks embedded in King Horemhab's ninth and tenth pylons," explained Saleh. "They are well preserved. A total of 40,000 pieces are stored in Luxor, inscribed with scenes of the religious life in the temple to Aten, while others show Akhenaten with his wife Nefertiti and other members of the royal family. "One of the three busts of Akhenaten is unique in that it shows the king with the complete Maat crown and the goddess of Truth and Justice," Saleh went on. "The three statues were discovered early this century at Karnak and have never been viewed by the public." Another recent achievement is the reassembling of a statue of Intef, the head of the army forces during King Mentuhotep-Nephetep-Re's reign during the 11th Dynasty. The sandstone statue was found in three parts, exhibited separately in the Middle Kingdom section of the museum, "but now the head and torso have been joined to the legs and the feet. After completing final restoration, this statue will be temporarily on display in the foyer of the museum before being returned to its rightful location," said Saleh. Another project well underway involves preparations for the transferral of the unilection of royal furniture belonging to Hetep-Heres, the mother of King Khufu, from the second floor to a special hall on the ground floor. "There it will take its rightful (historical) place with the Old Kingdom monuments along with some hitherto stored objects of the queen which will be exhibited with the collection," said Saleh. Finally, the old laboratory of the museum is to be converted into a second "mausoleum of mummies" for the display of 16 royal mummies rescued from the obscurity of the basement and currently undergoing restoration.
