I spent a few days in Chicago last week, visiting the Oriental Institute Museum and the Field
Tutankhamun at the Oriental Institute Museum
Museum, both wonderful places. Emily Teeter very kindly took me though the galleries and stores of the Oriental Museum, and talked about the work of the Oriental Institute Museum. The newly redeveloped galleries (they were reopened in 2004) encompass the whole of the Middle East and display the fieldwork and research the Oriental Institute, as well as the material culture of the ancient civilisations. At the Field Museum, Jim Phillips, a curator in the Anthropology Department who has responsibility for the Egypt collections, showed me around this vast institution and talked about the plans to redevelop the Egypt displays. Both Emily and Jim were extraordinary helpful and generous with their time, many thanks! If you are ever in Chicago, make sure to visit both museums, especially the Oriental Institute Museum if you are interested in Egypt, you will be in for a treat.
Egypt at the Manchester Museum 