Regine Schulz
Curator of Ancient Art
Director Of International Curatorial Relations,
Curator of Ancient Art, Director Of International Curatorial Relations, The Walters Art Museum
Regine Schulz's specialty is the culture of the ancient Near East and Egypt. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Munich and remains on the faculty there in the Egyptology department. She also teaches at The Johns Hopkins University. Schulz is deeply committed to the International Council of Museums (ICOM). She was the chairperson of the International Committee of Egyptology (CIPEG) and of the Resolution Committee. Presently, she serves on the board of CIPEG and on their Ethics Committee. She is also on the board of the American Research Center in (DC Chapter) and the Sister Cities Committee Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria. Schulz excavated in the Egyptian Delta and Thebes. She has taught courses on museum education in Luxor and Cairo. In addition, she has edited, authored and co-authored numerous publications, including eleven books on ancient and the Near East, such as The World of the Pharaohs (translated into twelve languages) and Egypt: Art and Architecture. In collaboration with Matthias Seidel, she has also published a book on the Egyptian and Near Eastern scarab collection of the Walters. Schulz has also created a guide to the highlights of the Egyptian Collection and in tandem with Giraud Foster, the catalogue of the ancient South Arabian Collection. Since becoming Curator of Ancient Art in 2001, Regine has curated two major exhibitions Eternal Egypt and Faces of Ancient Arabia, and several smaller shows.
Research Projects in Ancient Art
Egyptian Amulet Collection of the Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum houses a collection of approximately 380 ancient Egyptian amulets, which include representations of gods and goddesses, protective symbols, and cartouches with royal names. The research project, executed by Matthias Seidel and Regine Schulz started in 2007; we plan to publish the collection in 2009.
Objects Research: Ancient Egyptian Art
Several art historical and provenance research projects were accomplished in connection with the publication of the highlights of the ancient Egyptian collection at the Walters Art Museum. The research work and the catalogue project were directed by Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel, with contributions by Betsy Bryan and Christianne Henry.
Published: Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel, Egyptian Art-The Walters Art Museum. Baltimore/London 2008.
Objcts Research: Ancient Greek Art
Several art historical and provenance research projects were accomplished in connection with the publication of the highlights of the ancient Greek collection at the Walters Art Museum. The project was directed by Sabine Albersmeier, and the publication included contributions by Amalia Avramidou, Wendy Closterman, Helene Coccagna, Angeliki Kokkinou, Leigh Lieberman, Michael Maaß, John H. Oakley, Timothy Phin, H.A. Shapiro, and Allison Surtees.
Published: Sabine Albersmeier, The Art of Ancient Greece-The Walters Art Museum-. Baltimore/London 2008
Further object research took place in connection with the exhibition: Heroes: Myth and Mortals in Ancient Greece. Several of these projects were carried out in cooperation with the Conservation Division. The exhibition and the catalogue project was directed by Sabine Albersmeier, contributors to the object research and catalogue are Jacquelyn H. Clemens, Helene Coccagna, Richard A. Grossmann, Sandra E. Knudson, Angeliki Kokkonou, Jocelyn Rohrbach, Sarit Stern, and Allison Surtees.
"Corn Mummy"
"Corn-mummies" are ancient Egyptian ritual mummies that were created for special festivals in the temples. The corn-mummy on display in the Walters Art Museum is a loan from a private collection in Maryland. The mummy consists of dirt, fibers, and seeds, which were formed in the shape of a mummy, wrapped in linen, and with a wax mask representing the face of Osiris. This ritual mummy was placed in a wooden coffin with a falcon head the face of which is partially gilded. The Conservation Division is working on an analysis of the materials, as well as the production techniques. The art historical determination took place in 2007/2008.
Published: Regine Schulz, "A Corn Mummy Decoded." The Journal of the Walters Art Museum 63, pp. 5-14. Baltimore, 2009.
Situla of King Kashta and His Daughter Amenirdis
The situla with the names of the Kushite ruler Kastha and his daughter Amenirdis is an unusual libation vessel with respect to type, size, and inscriptions. It is small for a ritual instrument, and the names of the king and his daughter, who was the Divine Consort of the God Amun, both have a cartouche around the name but no titles. The research on the ancient authenticity of the situla and its incised inscriptions took place in 2008 in cooperation with the Conservation Division. Later the typological determination of the vessel took place, as well as the historical interpretation of the situla and its inscription.
Published: Regine Schulz, "Ein neuer Beleg des Kaschta und Amenirdis' I" In Texte-Theben-Tonfragmente - Festschrift für Günter Burkard. Ägypten und Altes Testament 76, pp. 370 - 376. Wiesbaden, 2009.
Miniatue block statue of Khamenwaset
The placement of miniature statues of official and private persons in ancient Egyptian temples has been the subject of extensive scholarly discussion. One such work in the museum's collection is the block statue of Khamenwaset, fan bearer and chief of works in the temple of Amun. The project dealt not only with the identification of the owner and the dating of the statuette, but also with its function and meaning in the temple context.
Published: Regine Schulz, "Small but Beautiful - The Block Statue of Kha-em-Waset." In: S. H. D'Auria, Servant of Mut: Studies in Honor of Richard A. Fazzini. Probleme der Ägyptologie 20, pp. 216-222. Leiden/Boston 2008,
The Scarab Collection of the Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum houses a small, but excellent collection of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern scarabs, scaraboids, and plaques. The collection includes amulet-scarabs, heard-scarabs for the mummy, and royal commemorative scarabs. The collection has been researched in a three-year project and was published in 2007.
Published: Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel, Khepereru - Scarabs. Scarabs, Scaraboids, and Plaques from Egypt and the Ancient Near East in the Walters Art Museum, HALGO, Baltimore 2007.
The publication is available in the Walters' museum store (phone: 866-804-9387; email museumstore@thewalters.org
Ancient South Arabian Collection
Between 2007 and 2009 the Walters Art Museum received the gift of the Giraud and Carolyn Foster Collection of South Arabian Art, which consist of fifty-eight objects, including as calcite-alabaster statues and heads, stelae and reliefs, as well as minor arts, such as seals, and bronze pendants. The collection has been researched by Regine Schulz, Robert Bianchi, and Antonietta Catanzeriti, and in cooperation with the donor, Giraud Foster. The translation of the inscriptions was undertaken by the Egyptologist and specialist on South Arabian inscriptions Kenneth A. Kitchen (Liverpool). The results were presented in the exhibition Faces of Ancient Arabia in 2008.
Faces of Ancient Arabia: The Giraud and Carolyn Foster Collection of South Arabian Art, edited by Regine Schulz and Giraud V. Foster, with contributions by Robert Bianchi and Antonietta Catanzeriti. Baltimore, 2008.
Selected Articles on Walters Art Museum’s Ancient Art Objects
Schulz, Regine, “How the Pharaohs came to Baltimore.” KMT – A modern Journal of Ancient Egypt vol. 13, no. 3, Fall 2002, 32–44.
Christianne Henry, “Base with two prostrate figures.” In: Ziegler Christinane, The Pharaohs (special exhibition Venive, Palazzo Grassi), Milano 2002, 124 no. 438.
Albersmeier, Sabine, “Gift of South Italien Vases from the Marilyn and Hernert Scher Collection.” Journal of the Walters Art Museum 60/61, Baltimore 2002/2003, 105–108.
Matthias Seidel, “A Mummy Mask from the Middle Kingdom.” Journal of the Walters Art Museum 60/61, Baltimore 2002/2003, 109–110.
Schulz, Regine, “Treasures of Bronze.” Bulletin of the Egyptian Museum 1, Cairo 2004, 61–66.
Schulz, Regine, “A Coptic Exodus text in the Walters Art Museum.” Journal of the Walters Art Museum 62, 2004, 213–227.
Schulz, Regine, “Musikanten und Brettspieler – Gedanken zur Bild- und Textanalyse eines bekannten Reliefs.” IMAGO AEGYPTI 1, Göttingen 2005, 98-124.
Schulz, Regine, “Ein neuer Prinz Schoschenq ?” In: Ernst Czerny, Timelines – Studies in honour of Manfred Bietak, Orientalia Loven 149, Leuven 2006, 307–308.
Schulz, Regine, “Dog is missing his master – Reflections on an Old Kingdom Tomb Relief.” In: M. Barta, The Old Kingdom Art and Archaeology Proceedings of the Conference held in Prague, May 31 – June 4 2004, Prague 2006, 315–324.
Schulz, Regine, “Small but Beautiful – The Block Statue of Kha-em-Waset.” In: S. H. D’Auria, Servant of Mut, Studies in Honor of Richard A. Fazzini. Probleme der Ägyptologie 20, Leiden/Boston 2008, 216–222.
Schulz, Regine, “A Corn Mummy Decoded.” The Walters Art Museum Journal 2005, Baltimore 2009, 5–14.
Schulz, Regine, “Ein neuer Beleg des Kaschta und Amenirdis’ I.” Texte-Theben-Tonfragmente – Festschrift für Günter Burkard. Ägypten und Altes Testament 76, Wiesbaden 2009, 370 - 376.
Online Publications
Objects of the ancient Near East with cuneiform inscriptions as part of the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative of the University of California at Los Angeles; prepared in cooperation with Alice Petty and Regine Schulz.