Audio Guide
The Highlights Tour
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101. The Director's Tour, First Floor: Mastaba Tomb of Perneb
Gallery 100
This limestone structure takes us back to ancient Egypt almost 4500 years ago. It is the tomb of a high official named Perneb, and comes from an ancient cemetery called Saqqara. As you enter the tomb, look for a large doorway that is flanked by two depictions of Perneb. As you walk through this doorway you enter the tomb chapel just as Perneb’s relatives must have done. The actual burial was underground and not accessible after the funeral. But this above-ground structure is where relatives and priests would have come to say prayers for the deceased and to make offerings. This was in order to supply Perneb with the provisions that he was thought to need in the afterlife. Take a look at the dense decoration. Cattle are being slaughtered and offering bearers bring all kinds of foodstuffs. These images were thought to magically come alive and to thus provide the deceased with everlasting provisions. The Egyptians believed that life continued after death and much great art and architecture was produced that reflects this belief.
Perneb’s tomb is a gateway to the Egyptian art collection at The Met, which is one of the most comprehensive outside of Egypt. Perneb’s tomb was excavated by the Egyptian Antiquities Service. It was purchased by The Metropolitan Museum from the Egyptian government in 1913. The Met then worked to move it from Egypt to New York, where it’s been displayed in these galleries since 1916.
The next stop on the tour is the display of ancient models from the Tomb of Meketre. To find them, exit Perneb’s monument and turn left. Then continue through the Egyptian galleries and look for a carpeted room on your right.
- 101. The Director's Tour, First Floor: Mastaba Tomb of Perneb
- 3215. Ivory Comb and Ceremonial Palette
- 3235. Relief Depicting Personified Estates from the Tomb of Akhtihotep
- 3255. Nikauhor Chapel Wall
- 3277. King Sahure and a Nome God, Part 1
- 3285. Statue of Mentuhotep II
- 3295. Funerary Boat being Rowed
- 1123. Pectoral of Sithathoryunet
- 3355. Hippopotamus
- 3276. Seated Statue of Hatshepsut
- 3390. Funerary mask of Hatnefer
- 3400. Jewelry of Three Wives of Thutmose III
- 3415. Arm Panel from a Throne of Thutmose IV
- 3420. Dog and Gazelle
- 3460. Head of Tutankhamun
- 3585. Haremhab as a Scribe
- 3500. Nauny's Funerary Papyri
- 103. Met Fifth Avenue Highlights Tour, First Floor
- 3274. Statue of the Goddess Sakhmet
- 3575. Mummy of Artemidora
- 1000. Marble Female Figure
- 1034. Fragments of a marble statue of the Diadoumenos (youth tying a fillet around his head)
- 1037. Marble statue of a wounded warrior
- 1085. Marble column from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis
- 1283. Marble statue of a youthful Hercules
- 851. Kids: Choir Screen from the Cathedral of Valladolid
- 114. The Director's Tour, First Floor: Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba
- 113. Bis Poles
- 2280. Overview: The Lauzun Room, Part 1
- 2280. Overview: The Lauzun Room, Part 2
- 3805. Autumn Landscape
- 3870. Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles
- 811. Kids: Living Room from the Francis W. Little House: Windows and paneling
- 1850. Woman in an Armchair, Part 1
- 1816. The Eternally Obvious
- 4780. Portrait of Gerard de Lairesse
- 5075. Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
- 949. Kids: Ritual Altar Table (Jin)
- 7360. Spouted Ritual Wine Vessel (Guang)
- 7395. Jar (Hu), Part 1
- 8978. Jar (Hu), Part 2
- 7410. Architectural Models
- 8990. Overview: Tang Dynasty - Glazed Pottery
- 8991. Overview: The Silk Road
- 7447. Arhat (Luohan), Part 1
- 7447. Arhat (Luohan), Part 2
- 7451. Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in "Water Moon" Form (Shuiyue Guanyin), Part 1
- 7453. Buddha Maitreya (Mile fo), Part 1
- 7453. Buddha Maitreya (Mile fo), Part 2
- 8935. Water Stone
- 7900. A Pair of Royal Earrings, Part 1
- 7902. A Pair of Royal Earrings, Part 2
- 958. A Pair of Royal Earrings, Part 3
- 961. Kids: Standing Ganesha
- 7980. Overview: Jain Meeting Hall
- 8000. Krishna on Garuda
- 128. The Director's Tour, Second Floor: Reliefs from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, Part 1
- 130. The Director's Tour, Second Floor: Damascus Room
- 4340. Washington Crossing the Delaware
- 6014. Joan of Arc
- 6024. Odalisque in Grisaille, Part 1
- 6052. The Forest in Winter at Sunset
- 6170. A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers (Madame Paul Valpinçon?)
- 6122. Woman with a Parrot
- 6004. The Horse Fair
- 6005. The Dance Class
- 6168. The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer
- 6410. Garden at Sainte-Adresse
- 6364. The Daughters of Catulle Mendès, Huguette (1871–1964), Claudine (1876–1937), and Helyonne (1879–1955)
- 6382. The Path through the Irises
- 6402. Shoes
- 6406. The Siesta
- 6408. Odalisque with Gray Trousers
- 6009. Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), Part 1
- 6017. Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000)
- 6342. Study for "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte"