Ancient Egyptian Gallery - Joan Lennon

This month marks the 200th anniversary of the National Museum of Scotland (then the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland*) acquiring its very first ancient Egyptian artefact.**  So it is fitting that they are opening the new Ancient Egyptian Gallery ...

... and it is fabulous!  Every cabinet and display has something riveting.  From Nubian horses -

c1550-1295 BCE

c1390-1186

to a long-kilted wealthy man -

c1855-1650 BCE

to a tiny bewigged woman -

c1550-1295 BCE

But perhaps, as many of us are writers, I should share the headless scribe with the lovely ripply belly, with these words on the information board:

"In an ancient Egyptian poem, a father advises his son to become a scribe to avoid hard physical labour, declaring, 'I will make you love writing more than your mother!'"

c1479-1425 BCE

Says it all.

The next time you are in Edinburgh, give it a visit if you possibly can.  If that isn't likely to be anytime soon, the links below offer a taste of what's on offer, and also some more in-depth information about individual objects.

Explore Our Collections: Ancient Egyptian Collection
Things to See and Do:  New Ancient Egyptian, East Asia and Ceramics Galleries


* Founded 1780.
** The Egyptian collection now contains around 6,000 objects.

Joan Lennon's website.
Joan Lennon's blog.
Silver Skin.