- Rosicrucian
Museum
- From
the
beginning
of
the
work
of
the
Rosicrucian
Order,
AMORC
in
the
20th
century,
Egypt
loomed
large.
From
1915
to
1927,
at
the
Order's
early
headquarters
in
New
York
City,
San
Francisco
and
Tampa
Dr.
Lewis,
the
first
Imperator
of
AMORC
began
to
collect
artefacts
from
"the
Orient,"
through
the
generosity
of
members.
-
- In
1921,
Dr.
Lewis
urged
Order
members
to
support
the
excavations
of
the
Egypt
Explorations
Society
of
Boston
in
Tell
el
Amarna,
the
city
of
the
King
Akhenaten
and
as
a
result
garnered
a
significant
funds
for
the
project.
-
- In
gratitude,
the
Egypt
Explorations
Society
donated
several
artefacts
from
their
finds.
After
the
Order's
headquarters
settled
in
its
present
San
Jose
location,
Dr.
Lewis
conceived
of
a
public
collection,
"The
Rosicrucian
Egyptian
Oriental
Museum"
in
1928.
He
had
glass
cases
for
the
artefacts
built
in
a
lounge
area
of
the
second
floor
of
the
Administration
building.
-
- A
grand
tour
of
Egypt
followed
in
1929,
and
this
enthusiasm
generated
many
more
donations
of
artefacts
and
funds
for
the
Museum.
By
1932
the
collection
had
outgrown
its
second
floor
home,
and
additional
construction
was
added
as
an
annex
to
the
Administration
Building.
-
- Although
the
many
artefacts
in
the
collection
themselves
were
actual
ancient
antiquities,
as
a
teaching
institution,
educational
replicas
were
also
needed.
In
1935,
the
carefully
detailed
Rock
Tomb
replica,
modelled
on
several
originals
in
the
Beni
Hasan
desert
was
unveiled.
The
second
teaching
replica
was
the
model
of
the
Djoser
Step
Pyramid
complex,
lovingly
crafted
by
the
museum
staff
and
volunteers.
-
- The
familiar
Byzantine
design
and
Moorish
arches
of
the
Museum
greeted
visitors
for
over
thirty
years.
As
the
collection
grew
and
deepened,
however,
it
became
obvious
to
Ralph
M.
Lewis,
AMORC's
second
Imperator,
that
a
fully
modern
museum
facility
was
needed
for
the
more
than
2,000
artefacts.
-
- In
November
1966
the
new
museum
building
opened,
the
largest
display
of
Egyptian
artefacts
in
the
Western
U.S.,
the
only
such
Museum
on
the
planet
designed
in
the
Egyptian
style,
and
situated
in
an
Egyptian
revival
park.
-
- In
1999,
the
Museum
mounted
its
first
travelling
exhibition,
Women
of
the
Nile,
which
included
a
full
series
of
lectures
and
workshops.
The
exhibit
travelled
during
2000
and
early
2001
in
the
U.S.
and
Canada,
and
an
exhibit
catalogue
was
published
to
accompany
the
event.
-
- From
October
2000
through
March
2002,
the
Museum's
stone
figure
of
Cleopatra
VII
travelled
as
part
of
an
exhibit
in
Rome,
London
and
Chicago.
The
21st
century
looks
promising
with
new
exhibits,
tours
and
workshops,
continuing
research
and
scholarship,
and
a
perennial
commitment
to
education
and
service.
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