Sub-titled 'The Revolutionary Life of Jean-François Champollion,' rightly regarded as the founder of Egyptology. Ancient Egypt fascinated the ancient Greeks and Romans including Alexander the Great. It still fascinates us more than any other ancient civilisation, but no Greek or Roman could read the elaborate Egyptian hieroglyphs. For almost two millennia the hieroglyphic script became a 'lost language', until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone by Napoleon's soldiers in Egypt in 1799. Despite the efforts of some of Europe's most intelligent scholars, including the English polymath Thomas Young, to crack the hieroglyphic code, it was an impoverished, arrogant and brilliant child of the French Revolution Jean-François Champollion who made the vital breakthrough. This finely illustrated biography charts his dramatic life and achievements and how, against the odds, Champollion led an expedition to Egypt with royal backing, lived in the tomb of the Valley of the Kings, and made the voices of the Pharaohs and their subjects speak. His obsession eventually drove him to an early death at the age of only 41. Chapters also cover the Curator at the Louvre and In Search of Ramesses and the First Professor of Egyptology. A memorable and beautifully written historical detective story, first time translated into English and here in fine heavyweight Oxford University Press hardback. Very well illustrated throughout, 272pp.

Beginning with Herodotus's 5th century BC observations of these massive monuments to Napoleon, soldiers, pioneers and adventurers, the scientific era, the cemetery complex, thesis, hypothesis and realities, Corteggiani leads the reader through the history of the Pyramids. He includes recent investigations by Egyptologists Gilles Dormion and Jean-Yeves Verd'hurt into a previously undiscovered room of the Great Pyramid. With remarkable images of early discoveries, a plan of the triangulation of the survey of 1881 of the Pyramids and Temples of Giza, chambers barely more than a metre high bearing graffiti, rare photographs in both colour and black and white and diagrams in this extremely well illustrated series. 128pp, paperback, colour.

In 1799 at Rosetta, near Alexandria, an officer of the French Army found a black basalt stele bearing inscriptions in three different scripts. The Rosetta Stone was to provide the key to deciphering Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Excitement mounted among the oriental-language specialists. The Greek text which reproduced a decree of King Ptolemy V appeared to be a translation of the other two. Fully explained are the purely ideographic and phonetic scripts in the opening pages of this gloriously well illustrated history. Buried treasure, looting, intrigue and dedicated scholarship. 'Wonderful things' gleaming in the darkness, the cache of royal mummies and most wonderful of all, the tomb of Tutankhamun. Here is the complete story of the rediscovery of Ancient Egypt, a tale of extraordinary characters like Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon who braved the 'Pharoah's Curse', Belzoni, the 'Patagonian Samson', Champollion who unlocked the secrets of the hieroglyphics. It is a tale of spectacular rescue with modern technology used to save Egypt's monuments from floodwaters and the ravages of time. Documented is the first sight of Abu Simbel in 1813 by a Swiss traveller who while in Nubia was disguised as a Syrian merchant, and how the island of Philae became a victim of 20th century engineering works on the Nile; Petrie who returned to Abydos aged 69 in 1922 is pictured in a rare photograph and of course mummies, chests, collars of beads when the inner coffin was opened in 1925. Plus the Library of Alexandria, the first cross section of the Great Pyramid, the Great Temple at Karnak opened to all, the founding of the Cairo Museum and treasures aplenty. Very well illustrated 208 page softback, colour.

How much do we really know about Ancient Egypt? What about the farmers, the soldiers, the labourers and the families that made up the vast majority of this much mythologized civilisation? Chapters include A Gift of the Nile, The Art of Writing, Artisan Ship, Egyptian Art, Free Women In Pharaoh's Land?, The Pleasures of the Heart, Survival Techniques - Mummies, A Guide Through the Underworld, Gods, Goddesses and Magic, Temples, Tomb Robbers and Curses and Egypt and the Western World. With explanations of hieroglyphs alongside hundreds and hundreds of stunning colour photographs, diagrams and plans, we peep at underground passages, up close to marvellous relics, at amazing artworks and lithographs, reliefs and carvings, even fashions and hairstyles, a dancer doing a back bend to more contemporary photographs of Howard Carter and colleagues handling a statue of Tutankhamun, garments and other items of discovery. Will full list of Egyptian collections and museums, 296 very large pages. 9.4" x 12.4", 296 pages.
Click YouTube icon to see this book come to life on video.

The art of ancient Egypt that has been handed down to us bears no names of its creators. This book introduces some of the most important masterpieces, ranging from the Old Kingdom during the Third millennium BC to the Roman Period. The works encompass sculptures, reliefs, sarcophagi, murals, masks, and decorative items, most of them now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, but some occupying places of honour as part of the World Cultural Heritage in museums such as the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London, the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Featured works include: Seated statue of King Djoser, Wood relief of Hesire on a dining table, Statue of a scribe made of various materials, Funerary relief of Aschait, Sphinx of Sesostris III, Robed statue of Cherihotep, Reliefs from the Temple at Carnac, Sarcophagus of Queen Hatshepsut, Murals from Thebes, Seated figure of the goddess Sachmet, Statue of Queen Teje, Head of Akhenaten (Amenophis IV), Queen Nefertiti, Golden mask of Tutankhamun, Ramses II from Abu Simbel, Horus falcon made of granite, Stone relief from the temple ambulatory at Edfu. Glamorous colour illus. 21 x 26cm, new from Taschen, 96 pages.

A rewarding view of more than five millennia of artistic achievements, this stunningly beautiful Metropolitan Museum of Art publication has been specially imported by Bibliophile. The Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030-1650 B.C.), the second great era of ancient Egyptian culture following the great "Pyramid Age" of the Old Kingdom, was a transformational period during which the artistic conventions, cultural principles, religious beliefs, and political systems formed during earlier dynasties were developed and reimagined. This comprehensive volume presents a detailed picture of the least known of Egypt's three kingdoms yet a time of remarkable prosperity and unprecedented change. International specialists present new insights into how Middle Kingdom artists refined existing forms and iconography to make strikingly original architecture, statuary, tomb and temple relief decoration, and stele. Thematic sections explore art produced for different strata of Egyptian society, including the pharaoh, royal women, the elite, and the family, while other chapters provide insight into Egypt's expanding relations with foreign lands and the themes of Middle Kingdom literature. Statues in their settings, artists and workshops, elite tombs connecting the living and the dead, Thebes during the Eleventh Dynasty, the Pharoah, Royal Women, Courts and Provinces, conquest and colonisation, the supernatural, Abydos and Osiris, excavations and selected archaeological sites, more than 250 objects from major collections around the world are sumptuously illustrated, many with new photography undertaken specifically for this exhibition catalogue publication. Dripping in 365 colour and 42 mono illus, heavyweight quality, six maps, chronology. 24.13 x 3.18 x 30.48cm. 400 pages.
Click YouTube icon to see this book come to life on video.

A brightly coloured scene from the tomb of Ipuy at Thebes dating to about 1280 to 1215 BC shows the preparation of items of burial equipment such as furniture, ritual objects and a funerary mask and it's a glimpse into the world of the people who worked in the industry. Here are coffins and the cartonnage mummy case of Nakhtermuf, and even fingerprints left behind by people moving a coffin lid before the varnish had dried. Close up we see the fascinating world of ancient Egyptian burial customs and practises with four essays by leading academics. Choices of materials and methods used to create coffins add to the human story and the colour catalogue examines and displays over 50 objects and there's an illustrated glossary and index. Old Kingdom to early Middle Kingdom, the dead become serious business with decorated anthropoid coffins, objects buried with the bodies and later nested coffins right up to the Roman period. Building on the growing trend in Egyptology to use scientific analysis and imaging to examine artefacts, this glamorous heavy volume focusses on 100 objects from the Fitzwilliam Museum's renowned Egyptian collection. In addition to shedding new light on the workshops of ancient Egypt, it traces the religious beliefs, economic concerns and political allegiance of the people for whom the coffins were created. Behind these remarkable objects is a human story of daily concerns, aspirations and practical realities. 256 pages, 23 x 29cm, hundreds of colour photos and illus.
Click YouTube icon to see this book come to life on video.

Written in the tradition of historians like Stacy Schiff and Amanda Foreman who find modern lessons in ancient history and very opinionated, this provocative narrative explores the lives of five remarkable pharaohs who ruled Egypt with absolute power, shining a new light on the country's 3,000-year empire and its meaning today. Cooney turns to five ancient Egyptian pharaohs - Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa, masters of political entry, diplomacy, charisma and intimidation, whose autocratic regimes controlled a massive territory of untold wealth - to understand why many so often give up power to the few, and what it can mean for our future. As the first centralized political power on earth, the pharaohs and their process of divine kingship can tell us a lot about the world's politics, past and present. Every animal-headed god, every monumental temple, every pyramid, every treasure-filled tomb, and deified mummy offers extraordinary insight into a culture that combined deeply held religious beliefs with uniquely human schemes to justify a system in which one ruled over many. Examining clues from vivid hieroglyph engravings, courtly records and the footprints of great monuments, Cooney pieces together a new vision of ancient Egypt with clear rules to separate the elites from the underclass, oppressed from the oppressors, and the collaborators from those who dared to resist. From Khufu, the man who built the Great Pyramid at Giza as testament to his authoritarian reign, and Taharqa, the last true pharaoh who worked to make Egypt great again, we discover a clear lens into understanding how power was earned, controlled, and manipulated in ancient times. And in mining the past, Cooney uncovers the reason why societies have so willingly chosen a dictator over democracy, time and time again. Many colour photos, map and chronology, a National Geographic publication, 400 pages.

Jewels of the Nile celebrates the very first time that the Worcester Art Museum's internationally important collection of Egyptian jewellery - which has undergone conservation and cleaning - has been shown together. This strikingly illustrated book introduces the reader to the collection of an early 20th century Boston couple with a passion for ancient Egypt. The collectors, Laura and Kingsmill Marrs, were guided in their acquisitions by Howard Carter, the archaeologist who would later achieve world-wide recognition for his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (1922). Under his guidance, the Marrs's purchased an outstanding selection of scarabs, amulets, jewellery and cosmetic-related articles, including rare, blue-toned stone vessels. They also acquired a group of Carter's watercolour renditions of important Egyptian sites and royal figures. These artifacts, as well as objects from Worcester's stellar collection of Egyptian antiquities, are included in the publication. Colour illus. 24.13 x 2.54 x 29.21cm. 216 pages.
Click YouTube icon to see this book come to life on video.

A fresh look at 3000 years of Egypt's ancient history by unveiling its famous rulers - the pharaohs - using some of the finest objects from the vast holdings of the British Museum, along with masterworks from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. In an introductory essay, Margaret Maitland looks at Egyptian kingship in terms of both ideology and practicality. Then Aude Semat considers the Egyptian image of kingship, its roles and its uses. In 10 additional sections, Marie Vandenbeusch delves into themes related to the land of ancient Egypt, conceptions of kingship, the exercise of power, royal daily life, war and diplomacy, and death and afterlife. Objects, beautifully illustrated in 180 photographs, include monumental sculpture, architectural pieces, funerary objects, exquisite jewellery, and papyri. "This sumptuous publication, produced for an exhibition in Cleveland in the summer of 2016 in collaboration with the British Museum, is a combination of exhibition catalogue and study of kingship in ancient Egypt. The statues of Senusret II with their apparent realism, for example, are not intended as portraits but rather symbolise the role of the pharaoh and his responsibilities. A stela depicting Rameses II as a child sitting on a throne shaped like the akhet or horizon sign does not represent the living king but his symbolic role as a manifestation of the sun god, reborn every morning, emphasising the divine connections of the king. An ostracon showing Rameses II being suckled by a goddess serves the same purpose. Others illus are of uncommon or unique items such as a colour palette used by an official, and a flask in the shape of a scribe which may have had magical properties or may have been simply used as an ink pot. A rare papyrus from Old Kingdom Abusir, two of the famous Amarna letters and part of a king list from Abydos provide written material." Review by ancientegyptmagazine.com. 27.94 x 29.97 x 2.29cm, 176 pages.
Click YouTube icon to see this book come to life on video.