on the Cairo Museum amulets and king Tut

The Cairo Museum is an extraordinary place, rooms full of cabinets that are full of stuff. Egyptian art has often been confined to a cliche, no less by myself, but when face to face with it my opinions quickly changed.
Tutankhamuns death mask is a masterpiece, the gold and inlay work looks modern, and so does much of the loot that was found with it. its over 3000 years old. 
he stares out from his glass box, much the same as the Mona Lisa does, and people gaze back at the mystery the same way.

the hundreds of thousands of small objects / amulets sparked my curiousity. some smaller than a finger nail, depicting everything that the egyptian culture could throw up. Baboons, suns, scarabs, cats, snakes, the gods, fish, etc... etc... you name it, it was there. all of it dug out of the preserve jar that is the sahara desert and sand.

the humble street-market and everyday nature of these tiny treasures made you feel close. where King Tut stares out from the cosmos, you can imagine the women, men and children on the street having one of these in their pocket or around their neck, or at home hanging from a door or placed on personal altar.