Hatshepsut

For those hoping for more information about the Egypt State Information Service announcement that the mummy of Hatshepsut has been found in the Cairo Museum, I have found no further information on the subject so far. There is a lot of speculation about which of the known mummies held in the Cairo Museum it might be, but there has been no further official announcement. The following is a short profile of Hatshepsut, timed for the transfer of the Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharoah exhibition to the New York Met, which opens tomorrow:

http://tinyurl.com/qqe6s (newsday.com)

"The 18th Dynasty pharaoh Hatshepsut surely wins the prize for gutsiest cross-dresser of all time, if only because she played for the highest stakes. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for two decades (from 1479 to 1458 BC), which makes her the first major female head of state - the first one we know about, anyway. While women could be leaders in ancient Egypt, a pharaoh was by definition male. So Hatshepsut had to invent a hybrid gender, presenting a challenge to the sculptors charged with translating her flesh into stone. Hatshepsut's fluid identity is the focus of a captivating and opportune exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum that focuses both on the fruitful period of her reign and on shifting representations of the woman herself."

See the full story on the above web page.

For more information about the exhibition itself, see the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's website: www.metmuseum.org