The Ancient Egyptians took their religion seriously. So seriously, in fact, that 3,000 years later there is a collection of the breathtaking metal statues from Egyptian temples gathered from museums as close as Brooklyn and as far-flung as Paris, Athens and Cairo, now showing at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibit, Gifts for the Gods: Images from Egyptian Temples , which opened on October 16, is the first ever devoted to the copper, bronze, gold and silver pieces of artwork the religious Egyptians created for their revered deities.

Seeing this exhibit, for me, was not just any day at the museum. I had the privilege of attending a press-only preview of the collection the day before the opening of the exhibit. Thanks to the connections of my friend in the world of Egyptology, I was able to meet the exhibit's curator, Marsha Hill.

Hill strode from statue to brilliant statue, explaining historical backgrounds with the pride of a parent. Especially deserving of her pride was one of the high points of the collection: Takushit , the depiction of a priestess and noblewoman in copper. Her ivory-inlaid eyes stare eerily, peering out from another world. She stands at a triumphant 27 inches, and is covered from head to toe in a web of religious imagery. A jewel of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, her exhibition in New York is the first time she has appeared outside Greece.

From the enchanting Princess Sobeknakht Nursing Her Son , dating back to 1750 B.C., to the solemnly magnificent solid gold Amun , all the metalwork in the collection demands appreciation and contemplation.

Following the example of other journalists leisurely walking among the statues, I snapped photos and jotted notes as I listened to the curator. Although a lover of art and history, I confessed no extensive knowledge of Ancient Egypt, but learned from Hill's simple descriptions. The statues, she explained, were often very personal offerings. Some gods were seen as "hometown" gods. Gods also had to do with family: perhaps if a particular god blessed your sister, then you would make an offering to that god too.

After feeling thoroughly immersed in the realm of Ancient Egyptian temples, receiving the business card of a journalist from Cairo and marveling at the life like perspective used on the Torso of King Pedubaste , created 800 years before Christ, it hit me: joining the ranks of reporters for a press preview of a Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that sparked in me a new thirst for knowledge of the spiritual lives of Ancient Egyptians.

Looking into the eyes of Takushit might just do the same for you.

The exhibit closes February 18, 2008.