Maarten J. Raven worked as Curator of the Egyptian Department of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities) at Leiden, The Netherlands, from 1978 to 2018, and is now honorary research associate of that institution. In this capacity he organized numerous exhibitions, especially on the Leiden papyrus collection, mummy research, Dutch excavations in Egypt, and Egyptian magic. He was also responsible for the new display of the Egyptian collection (2016). He wrote numerous books and articles on egyptological subjects, and was also active as tour conductor and lecturer. His special interests include the history of egyptology, egyptomania, and ancient Egyptian technology and symbolism. From 2012 to 2018, he was extraordinary professor for the museology of Ancient Egypt at Leiden State University.