From the earliest times, Egyptians denied the physical impermanence of life. They formulated a remarkably complex set of religious beliefs and funneled vast material resources into the quest for immortality. The exhibition focuses on the understanding of the afterlife among Egyptians some 3,000 years ago in the period of the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) through the Late Period (664-332 BC). The New Kingdom marked the beginning of an era of great wealth, power, and stability for Egypt and was accompanied by a burst of cultural activity, much of which was devoted to the quest for eternal life.

Highlights of the exhibition include:

		Boat from the Tomb of Amenhotep II (18th Dynasty) - An 8-foot-long wooden model of a pharaoh’s river ship that used to sail on the Nile, painted with scenes of the god Montu smiting the enemies of Egypt
		Head of Thutmose I (18th Dynasty) - A sandstone head derived from one of the standing colossal statues of the king
		Osiris Resurrecting (26th Dynasty) - Sculpture of the god Osiris wrapped as a mummy with a gold and electrum headdress, shown lying on his stomach with his head lifted in the process of resurrecting
		Canopic Chest of Queen Nedjmet (late 20th Dynasty) made to hold her internal organs
		Numerous gold and jeweled items from the royal tombs at Tanis (21st and 22nd Dynasties), acclaimed as the most significant royal burial site since the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922
		A mummy and a coffin from Egypt’s 21st Dynasty (1069-945 BC), along with the mummy’s X-rays and CT-scans

The last room of the exhibition is a reconstruction of the tomb of Thutmose III, ruler of Egypt in the 15th century BC. On the walls is the earliest known complete copy of the Amduat, the great text describing the sun god’s journey through the afterworld during the 12 hours of night when the sun god defeats his enemies in the netherworld and achieves rebirth at the eastern horizon to rise again in the morning sky. The king joins the sun god and the populace of Egypt follows along to share in the triumphant cycle of death and rebirth.