Egyptian Museum of Turin, Italy, Sarcophagus of Gemenefherbak, detail (sarcophagus of Gemenefherbak, detail)
Gemenefherbak was a judge and prime minister from Sais in the Nile De Valley, which was the capital of the empire during the 26th Dynasty (664 - 525 BC).
He is shown wearing a long apron, on which he stands praying with raised arms next to the Djed pillar (symbol of Osiris, god of the afterlife, regeneration and the Nile). At the bottom of the wide collar (shadowed by the beard) is the symbol of Maat, the goddess of justice (not visible in this detail). Founded in 1824, the Egyptian Museum was housed in a austere 17th-century brick palace in the center of Turin after Carlo Felice di Savoia bought a large collection of Egyptian antiquities.
The collection, which is constantly being expanded, is now considered one of the most important outside of Cairo, as it includes around 6,500 objects in the permanent exhibition and another around 33,000 in the archive, which cannot be exhibited for conservation reasons or which are only of scientific interest.
The museum is gradually being modernized and in 2006 the 'Statuario', with the collection of monumental sculptures by Dante Ferretti (Oscar winner as art director of the film 'The Aviator'), was stunningly re-staged.
A new impressive presentation of the tomb of Kha and his wife Merit followed in 2010.