Scarab spring: the Ashmolean Museum's new Egyptian galleries – in pictures

A viewer inspects the shrine of Taharqa from the temple of Kawa. The piece dates from roughly 680BC Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian A wide shot of the shrine. Shipped in wooden crates from Sudan to England in 1936, it is the only complete freestanding pharaonic building in Britain Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian Mummiform figurines, known as shabtis , were placed in tombs from the middle kingdom onwards. They were designed to do manual work on behalf of their owner in the afterlife Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian A fragment of a limestone statue of the crocodile-headed god Sobek Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian The coffin of Meresamun, a temple singer. The ancient Egyptians believed a person's name must be preserved in order for them to survive for eternity Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian Limestone statues of the fertility god Min, which date from 3300BC Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian The mummy and coffin of Djeddjehutyiuefankh, who belonged to a very important line of Theban priests Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian A close-up of Djeddjehutyiuefankh's coffin Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian Ivory statuettes from the temple of Hierakonpolis. Dating from late pre-dynastic to early dynastic periods, these are some of the first depictions of the Egyptian elite Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian Detail of a painting featuring two princesses Photograph: Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford A sculpture of the feline goddess, Bastet Photograph: Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford A 'mummy portrait' of a newly dead Egyptian youth, painted between AD100 and 200 Photograph: Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford Photograph: Ashmolean Museum Photo Studio/Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford A carving of Nefertiti, the pharaoh Akhenaten's wife Photograph: Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford A wide shot of the gathered exhibits Photograph: Richard Bryant/arcaidimages.com Photograph: Richard Bryant/Richard Bryant/arcaidimages.com