New York’s Metropolitan Museum houses Egyptian artifacts collected over 35 years

CAIRO – 23 November 2022: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is one of the most famous museums in the world.

It contains a large number of antiquities belonging to all civilizations, including artifacts belonging to the ancient Egyptian civilization.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was established in New York City in 1870 with the aim of opening a museum to provide art and art education to the American people. It was officially inaugurated February 20, 1872.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art showcases a large collection of artifacts. Its permanent collection consists of more than 2 million pieces, distributed in 17 halls. Its permanent collection also consists of artworks from classical antiquity and ancient Egypt, paintings and sculptures from nearly all European masters, and an extensive collection of American and modern art. The museum also maintains extensive collections of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine and Islamic art.

The Egyptian section of the museum includes a collection of ancient Egyptian art of about 26,000 pieces of artistic, historical and cultural importance, dating back from the Paleolithic period to the Roman era (about 300,000 BC - the fourth century AD). 

Part of the Egyptian artifacts housed in the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art - social media

Part of the Egyptian artifacts housed in the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art - social media

Part of the Egyptian artifacts housed in the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art - social media

Part of the Egyptian artifacts housed in the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art - social media

Part of the Egyptian artifacts housed in the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art - social media

Part of the Egyptian artifacts housed in the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art - social media

Among the exhibits of the museum is a wing that includes a large collection of Egyptian antiquities inside its halls, which includes works from the first phase of the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt. The wing is not limited to ceramic works and clay pieces, but rather includes a group of statues and portraits of the kings of the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt.

The museum also includes a wing for Islamic art. This wing highlights the development of this art from the 7th century AD until the 19th century.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the Islamic Art wing of the museum presents a comprehensive vision of Islamic art. The pavilion contains works of art that represent different stages of Islamic art. It is not limited to Arabic calligraphy and Islamic motifs, but also includes pieces of art that reflect the development of Islamic architecture, the textile industry, and the development of ceramic art.

The wing includes works from the ancient Islamic world from Arabia, Andalusia, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, India, Persia and Indian Mongolia.