"I see wonderful things!" - Howard Carter, 1922.
I have been fascinated by ancient Egypt since I was a young girl. I saw my first Egyptian mummy when I was 16 and visited the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian. I was not daunted by his crumbling nose and withered body. Although I didn't get a chance to see the original King Tut's treasures when they toured the United States, I found the "Splendors of Ancient Egypt" exhibit fascinating. It was the first time I had ever seen a Faiyum mummy painting and found it so beautiful. It reminded me of Greek orthodox religious icon paintings and, in fact, I have read since then that Greco-Roman mummy portraiture did influence subsequent religious paintings.
Since then I have been fortunate enough to have visited the Getty Villa in Malibu, California and viewed their mummy portrait collection and recently I returned from New York where I saw the spectacular collection of mummy portraits and masks at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In addition to surrounding myself with reproductions of Egyptian art like those displayed here, I also collect books set in ancient Egypt by such authors as Margaret George (Memoirs of Cleopatra), Judith Tarr (Lord of the Two Lands), Wilbur Smith (River God), and Lynda S. Robinson. I even used my experience with artificial intelligence software to create a virtual Cleopatra.
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