Asmaa Alieldin Ali Abdelfattah

Biography

Asmaa is a member of the Seventh Section Team (Coffins and Papyri of the Late Period Department) at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Within this role, Asmaa is responsible for several duties, including: researching various objects and collections to confirm authenticity and historical significance for documentation; planning the installation and presentation of new collections, exhibits, and other artefacts that will be displayed for the first time at the museum with a new classified scientific vision; recording and cataloguing artefacts; and preparing written information about catalogues, labels, and panels that will be made available to the public in the museum.

Asmaa’s responsibilities also include performing routine procedures of managing collections with accessioning, labelling, storing, packing or handling – as well as caring for collections to ensure they maintain their integrity and condition; writing grant proposals to raise funds for the museum in order to renew galleries and displays; and leading tours and collaborating with researchers to undertake their own studies.

Asmaa served as the coordinator of the scientific research project titled “Investigation of the Religious History of the Early 18th Dynasty: Documentation and Conservation of the Amduat Specimens from the Tomb of Thutmose I (KV 38)”. The project, headed by Professor Khaled Abdel Ghany, was awarded an Antiquities Endowment Fund (AEF) grant for 2022–2023 and received the Dr. Zahi Hawass Award for Best Conservation Project. She was also a member of the Egyptian Museum Coffins Conservation Project (EMCCP).

Currently, Asmaa is a doctoral candidate in the Egyptology Department at the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, where her dissertation, titled “Publishing a Collection of Papyri from the Third Intermediate Period in the Egyptian Museum and the British Museum: A Study in Religious Iconography”, focuses on religious iconography and papyrological studies.

Asmaa’s professional interests center on the integration of collections care, exhibitions, fundraising, marketing, and technology in museums – alongside the practical management, preservation, and public engagement of cultural heritage. Asmaa is particularly interested in innovative approaches to digital documentation, interactive displays, and audience engagement strategies that enhance learning and participation.

Asmaa’s interests also involve modernising exhibition design and interpretation, enhancing visitor engagement, ensuring long-term preservation of collections, and curating and presenting significant artefacts, including those related the Books of the Afterlife, through thoughtful display design and educational narratives for diverse audiences.

Personally, Asmaa enjoys exploring different cultures and engaging in creative activities.

At the British Museum

During her time on the International Training Programme, Asmaa will be based in the Egypt and Sudan Department. Her UK Partner Placement will be spent at Manchester Museum, Manchester Art Gallery and Whitworth Art Gallery.