BERLIN EGYPTIAN MUSEUM

   Founded by the King of Prussia on 1 July 1828 following the acquisition of the collections of Heinrich von Minutoli and Giuseppe Passalacqua, who became the first director, and the collection of Bernardino Drovetti in 1836. The collection was increased during the expedition to Egypt in 1842–1845 by Richard Lepsius, who became the second director of the institution in 1865. Anew museum for Egyptain antiquities was opened in 1850. The collection was enriched by the gift of Amarna sculpture, notably the head of Queen Nefertiti by a merchant who had financed the German excavations at Amarna. The museum was badly damaged during World War II, and the collections were later divided between East Berlin and West Berlin. The management of the Egyptian collection has now been unified, and plans are under way to rebuild the museum at its old site.

   See also Boston Museum of Fine Arts; British Museum; Cairo Egyptian Museum; Louvre Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Turin Egyptian Museum.