To say this book is glossy is an understatement. It is superbly glossy. All the items in the book have been newly photographed and the quality of photography and colour printing is exceptionally high. As a reference source for high‐quality colour photographs of the treasures of the Cairo Museum this book is excellent. The gold plaque of Psusennes, for example, is reproduced across a huge double page spread at three times actual size, and the tool marks of the goldsmith who worked on this 3,000 years ago can be clearly seen.
I do have some gripes about the presentation of bibliographical information. The reverse of the title page is used for a foreword and while, two pages later, we find acknowledgements of editor, editorial production, graphic design, it is another two pages before, at the bottom of a double spread contents page, we get the standard bibliographical information.
A preface and an introductory chapter provide a background to the museum and these are followed by an Egyptian chronology from predynastic to Roman times. This is clear and well presented. Subsequent chapters, arranged chronologically, are all written by international experts. Some chapters refer to a general period, while others refer to specific items or groups of importance, such as the treasures of Tutankhamun. Each photograph of an object is accompanied by a summary of the relevant information from the museum catalogue, including accession number, description, material, size, provenance, period and date. At the end of the book is a list of the objects, page by page, and a section explaining the history of the museum catalogues as well as a short descriptive bibliography of guides to the museum.
The book does not have an index and this will reduce its usefulness to the non‐specialist searching for information about a particular object. Anyone who is familiar with the subject matter will, I suspect, quickly be able to ascertain whether the book contains specific information of interest ‐ and it will have great value as a source of high quality illustrations. As well as a reference book this is a superb publication to browse, marvelling at the wonders of Egyptian art. Although an initial glance suggests a “coffee table book” this publication really does belong on the shelves of the reference library.
