The Ancient Egyptian Treasures of a German Sailor Who May Not Have Existed
Just after the turn of the 19th century, a German naval officer named Johannes Behrens set off on a winding voyage around the Mediterranean, and beyond. The Bremen-born sailor wasn’t just a military man. He seems to have had an uncanny eye for high-quality antiquities. As he traveled, he bought up remarkable treasures: an intricate Roman silver bowl, exquisite Ancient Egyptian carvings, an ornate Greek mask of bronze. Several were so impressive that they ended up displayed in some of the world’s most prestigious museums. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, spectacular…