Briefly Noted

Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum

Edna R. Russmann, ed. (Berkeley: Univ. of California, 2001) 288 pp., $39.95

Who would have thought that Egyptian families during the Roman period (c. 50 B.C.–50 A.D.) sometimes kept the mummies of their loved ones at home, standing erect? Thus reports this catalogue to a traveling exhibition of Egyptian art from the British Museum (it’s at the Brooklyn Museum of Art until February 24, 2002). The volume also contains dazzling photographs of the exhibit’s sculptures, papyri, hieroglyphic texts, cosmetic objects, paintings and jewelry.

Alexandria Rediscovered