The metropolitan museum of art really has a loose definition of art. Inside was anything that could be described as art. Statues, paintings, armor, swords, and furniture, anything you can think of. (If furniture is art, then my house could be a museum too!)
What interested me the most was the Egyptian wing. In there, there were several exhibits from the pyramids. There was even a replica of a pyramid when one steps into the room. The thing I instantly noticed was the lack of natural lighting. This gave it a more dark and depressing feeling, very appropriate for a culture that celebrates the after life. The blank expression on the masks and statues added to the mysterious feeling of the wing.
I learned a lot about the culture just from the statues and tablets. If one examined the statues and hieroglyphics, one could see that every person had their left foot out. This symbolized respect to the pharaoh. The other interesting thing was the size of some of the sarcophaguses and death masks. It was like they were made for children. The only logical reason I could make was they were the royal children that died of disease or an alligator attack.
The pyramids themselves have unique structure to them. They usually have multiple entrances and hidden ones as well. The corridors are narrow to not allow multiple people enter at once.
Most entrances where doors that lead back out or to the tomb robber’s death. Along the walls would be the history of the people buried there along with some significant warnings such as curses and the like.
Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be like Indiana Jones, and being in this wing of the museum allowed me to pretend that I was, especially exiting the pyramid portion while listening to the Indiana Jones theme song. The statues and the masks allowed me to learn more about the culture of the people and their connection with the dead. It felt like they celebrated death as much as they celebrate life.
