"Antiquity on Display" offers an insight into the history of the imaginative reproductions of architecture housed in Berlin's Pergamon Museum and the shifting regimes of the authentic in museum displays from the 19th century to the present.

Lying between deserts, mountain chains and seas, Iran developed a fascinating cultural landscape. 360 objects from the time of the first advanced civilisations during the 3rd millennium BC until the end of the Safavid Empire in the early 18th century illustrate the outstanding significance of Iran as the initiator and centre of intercultural exchange. Exquisite artworks from the Sarikhani Collection in London and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin invite visitors to embark on a journey in time through the cultural heritage of Iran. The highlights include the great pre-Islamic empires of the Achaemenids and the Sassanids, the establishment of a Persian-Islamic culture, the masterly artistic achievements of the 9th to the 13th centuries and the Golden Age of the Safavids. They are brought together as in a multifaceted kaleidoscope in the copious illustrations and provide insight into the art of the courts and the urban elites.

This book, edited by David Chipperfield, documents his most important project to date: the Neues Museum, the centrepiece of the Berlin Museumsinsel. Here he connects the old and new in a completely novel way. As he says himself, he proceeded like a painter, who painstakingly considers every dab of paint. Photographs by Candida Höfer show the rooms after their completion and before they were furnished. As Höfer avoided using artificial light, the rooms are bathed in a soft natural light. These critical moments are perfectly reproduced in the book as matt colour plates. The photographer is inspired by the empty rooms and grandiose corridors of space to then dedicate her attention to the architects interventions. This artistic-photographic documentation is complemented by texts from wellknown architects, architectural historians, art historians and conservation architects. They highlight the fundamental principles of the project of conservation and complementation. Kenneth Frampton discusses the almost historical endeavour to restore such a building and responds to Chipperfields architectural interventions, purely abstract forms that avoid any trace of kitsch. Joseph Rykwert describes the fragmented history of which this building is evidence, thanks to its many layers. An interview with David Chipperfield byWolfgangWolters imparts insights into the problems and questions that the restoration posed, and in his contribution, ThomasWeski takes a closer look at Candida Höfers photography. In addition, a chronology offers an overview of the history of the building, the request for proposals for its reconstruction and the restoration itself.

The Egyptian Museum collection in Berlin is one of the world's great collections of antiquities from Ancient Egypt. Among its many masterpieces is the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti, the internationally celebrated object star of the collection. The collection's origins were in the 1698 purchase of the antiquities assembled by Giovanni Pietro Bellori, and it was greatly augmented by expeditions in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During the Cold War the works were divided between East and West, but they have since been reunited on Berlin's Museum Island, and will now be at the heart of the rebuilt Neues Museum that opens in October 2009 for the first time since World War Two. Featuring beautiful all-new photography, an authoritative text and stunning new design, this book works equally well as a guide to a great museum collection or as an illustrated general introduction to the world of Ancient Egypt. AUTHOR: Professor Dietrich Wildung is a world expert on Ancient Egypt and Sudan. Until 2009 he was the Director of the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, Berlin. 150 colour illustrations

This lavish publication presents the Neues Museum, badly damaged during the Second World War and recently restored and reopened, in all its glory. Numerous full-page photographs magnificently showcase both the museum's architecture and its collection One of the great museums of the 19th century, the Neues Museum in Berlin, built between 1843 to 1855 to a design by Friedrich August Stuler, was celebrated both for its important collections and its innovative integration of exhibition concept and magnificent interior designs. Badly damaged during the Second World War, the building has been sympathetically restored by the British architect David Chipperfield and his team, whose work skilfully combines a rigorous respect for the original architecture on the one hand, with a commitment to modern design and contemporary exhibition needs on the other. This lavish publication presents the reopened Neues Museum in all its glory. Numerous full-page photographs magnificently showcase both the museum's architecture and its collection. The famous Mythological Room, Roman Room and the Room of the Niobids, as well as the extensive wall paintings of Wilhelm von Kaulbach and the historic floors, are described in detailed individual chapters. Other chapters re-examine the museum's eventful history and detail the extensive programme of restoration. Historical and current illustrations and floorplans complete this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated work on one of the finest museums in the world.

David Chipperfield's spectacular reconstruction of the Neues Museum marks a further stage in the conservation and modernisation of the Museum Island in Berlin. The original museum, erected from 1841 to 1859 to designs by Friedrich August Stüler, was itself a notable attraction, celebrated for its use of the latest construction technology and for its conception as a total work of art in which architecture, pictorial imagery and the exhibits worked together to acquaint visitors with 'exotic' cultures ranging from the ancient world to the more recent past. All parts of the building that survived the Second World War and a half-century of neglect as a ruin have been carefully conserved. They are joined by outstanding modern additions made in sympathy with the original. The Neues Museum can now take its place as a building worthy of the UNESCO World Heritage site. This book traces the genesis of the building, describes its former and current splendour and explains its significance. The author also outlines the heated debate over the right way to reconstruct the museum.

An accompaniment to the Egyptian Museum of Berlin’s special exhibition celebrating the discovery of the Nefertiti bust in 1912, this catalog presents never-before-seen artifacts and objects from the Amarna period of Egyptian history. The book also explores religion, craftsmanship, daily life, and sculpture in Amarna and the world famous Nefertiti bust.