Tiffany White
Museum Assignment # 2
Anthro 111A 104; April 10, 2012

African Art Exhibit The St. Louis Art Museum is, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating art galleries in the Midwest. I have visited the Holocaust Museum and the Science Center and I cannot compare this art museum to any other. The museum has exhibits ranging from Native American, Islamic, Oceanic and European art dating back to the 1800s. On April 5, 2012, I visited the art museum for a one and a half hour tour to take pictures, learn about the past, and study another type of culture that I was not very educated in. The St. Louis Art museum is located in Forest Park, right off the highway. The museum is three stories tall with special exhibits and also includes permanent collections. It is a great place to go on a rainy day, and it allows you to enjoy some time away from the television. While I was there, one of the most intriguing exhibits that caught my eye was the African Art collection. Also known as the "Egyptian Exhibit", is part of St. Louis's permanent collections and has been with art museum for over forty years. With over a hundred different artifacts in this exhibit, the St. Louis Art Museum has a collection ranging from grave goods to mummies before the B.C. Era. Being part of the St. Louis Art Museum's permanent collection, the Egyptian collection has been around since the museum bought the artifacts, which was around forty years ago. This collection is in very good condition and well-preserved due to everything being motionless. Artifacts, which are portable objects made from past human beings, are located in the museum. The artifacts are so old and fragile that the museum does not allow hands-on interaction. Located in the lower level of this exhibit, several mummies are on display in tombs and objects that were used to be buried with them. In class, objects that people were buried with were known as grave goods. Grave goods consisting of jewelry, food, furniture, and other valuables left behind to bury so these items could be carried into the afterlife with the deceased owner. With this collection being here for nearly forty years, people all over the world have come to see this collection and look at these artifacts that are found nowhere else in the world. Egyptian artifacts are important, valuable, and rare pieces of history. Many of these artifacts are so rare, that it is important to protect and cherish the Egyptian art as long as possible. St. Louis is very proud to display such a collection because other museums do not always have the opportunity to do so for as long as St. Louis has. One of the more broadcasted pieces in this exhibit is the Ka Nefer Nefer mask. This mask was excavated in 1952 about 16 miles south of Cairo by Dr. Ghanyum. The mask was so well preserved that it needed no modifications but a little dusting. The mask is so well in tact that is it said to be a face of a young noblewoman knows as, Ka Nefer Nefer. The mask is 20 inches long, with its glass eyes and gold face, it is breathtaking from its sophisticated hand details to its molded features. The museum purchased the mask in 1988 for half a million dollars from the Phoenix Ancient Art Museum in New York City. With recent updating, the art museum was taken to court because Egypt claimed that the artifact had been stolen. The museum stated, "Museum officials have said they researched that mask's ownership history before buying it and had no indications that there were questions about how it arrived in the United States." However, the mystery on how the mask left Egypt is still questionable. From the Egyptian emic perspective, it is wrong for us to possess and show these artifacts due to the disruption on these sacred tombs. But from an etic perspective, this collection is valuable to the American culture because it gives more understanding on Egyptian historic culture. One other piece of history that I found fascinating was the Amen-Nestawy-Nakht. This is the "mummy" that is located at the museum in the lower level. This was a priest of Amun that was buried in a painted, plaster tomb that covered his wrapped body. The tomb is covered with painted words and images that clarify the crowd of gods who escorted him to the afterlife. The sarcophagus, also known as the coffin, is also covered in hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics is an old Egyptian writing that was used as "secret codes" and was often placed on the tombs. Without studying art in my previous years, it is hard to tell and describe what all the pictures on the coffin meant. It is supposed to represent a story. However, everyone reads a story differently and everyone portrays an image differently. Trying to understand the images on the coffin are something that an individual will have to see for themselves. To me, it was very interesting and I liked the way the Egyptians had different stories on each individual's tomb back in the past. As far as the history, the tomb was sold in an auction years ago, but is said to have been stolen in the distant past.
The Egyptian collection is quite an extraordinary experience. In the past forty years, people all over the world travel to The St. Louis Art Museum to see some of the rarest artifacts from Africa. The exhibit is an essential contribution to Americans, helping them understand the lives and death of the Egyptians. In a similar way, the past and future is not that much different. I thought about their grave good and the artifacts, which are similar to the things that we bury with our loved ones and also thought about our artifacts that, one day, will be thrilling to others one hundred years from now. When I first found out that I had to visit a museum, I thought to myself, "Great, how boring!" After a while of looking around and thinking that this is a way of understanding the past, I realized that it was interesting and I now have a better understanding for those people who enjoy doing this for a living.

Works Cited
Amen-Nestawy-Nakht. "African Collection" St. Louis Art Museum
"Currently on View." Saint Louis Art Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.
Feder, Kenneth L. Linking to the Past: A Brief Introduction to Archaeology. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
Ka Nefer Nefer Mask. "African Collection" St. Louis Art Museum