Ancient Egyptians

Concept

The exhibition Ancient Egyptians. Masters of Art offers an overview of the history of Egyptian Art.

The real protagonists of this journey are the exhibits, understood as material evidence of concepts, ideas, and techniques. This is because the art of ancient Egypt is only known to us from direct archaeological experience.

It is evident that the focus of this exhibition is the art and not the civilisation that produced it, but at the same time it is inextricably linked to the lives of individual craftsmen and, in some cases, also of individual personalities, i.e., the 'masters': individuals whose professional lives or 'artistic' personalities we have been able to reconstruct.

More details

1 FOCUS

The main focus of this exhibition is Egyptian Art: architecture, sculpture and painting, as well as the minor arts, such as coroplasty, woodworking, jewellery, etc., from the Predynastic (3600-3200 BC) to the Greco-Roman period (330 BC - 642 AD).

Curatorship

Ancient Egyptians. Masters of Art is conceived and curated by the Touring Exhibition Office of Museo Egizio.

The curators are available to adapt the exhibition according to the spaces and needs of the interested museum and work together to build the best exhibition path for their venue.

Duration

3-6 months (negotiable)

Availability period

January-December 2025 January-December 2026 January-December 2027

Booking schedule

At least 6 months before the opening date (1 year even better)

Exhibits

The exhibition displays a fine selection of objects held at Museo Egizio, including many masterpieces from the collection.

Among the 24 exhibits:

1 papyrus
4 canopic jars
1 cartonnage mask
1 predynastic vase
1 stela
1 model boat

Masterpieces

Set-up contents

All contents for the exhibition panels, labels and other texts are produced by the curators of Museo Egizio. The Ancient Egyptians. Masters of Art display is particularly characterised by a rich and engaging multimedia setup and includes:

Descriptive panels

An information system consisting of panels written by expert-staff from Museo Egizio will accompany the whole exhibition.

Labels

All objects will be exhibited with a label containing basic data and a description.

Multimedia contents

2 VIDEOS
The exhibition videos are made by scholars and curators from Museo Egizio, as well as other institutions.

INFOGRAPHICS
Accompanied by infographics, selected objects will illustrate the analyses done and the precious information obtained from their results.

Installations

VIDEO-MAPPING ON THE COFFIN OF BUTEHAMON

A perfect 3D print of the outer coffin of the royal scribe Butehamon engages in a dialogue via projections that describe the phases of its construction; from carpentry to decorative design.

Catalogue Content

Museo Egizio will collaborate with the host institution to create the exhibition catalogue, providing texts and images.

List of contents

Introduction to the exhibition written by the Director of Museo Egizio, Christian Greco
A short essay written by the Exhibition Curator
Descriptive texts of all exhibits
High-resolution pictures of all exhibits

Catalogue entry example

Amulet of the royal child

Gold. h. 3,1 cm, l. 2 cm, w. 0,6 cm
New Kingdom (1539 – 1076 BC)
Provenance unknown
Cat. 6679

A child with his index finger held to his mouth, his shaved head and the side braid of youth, is usually connected to the figure of Hor-pa-khered (Horus the child) considered to be the son of Isis and Osiris. Horus the child, also known as Harpocrates, was often depicted seated on the legs of his mother who, with her magic, had cured him from the bite of poisonous animals. In the case of this amulet, the deity is depicted in profile, crouching and wearing a wide pleated skirt, a garment particularly in vogue during the New Kingdom. It is a depiction of the so-called 'royal child' or 'divine child', which could symbolise the sun god as a newborn child, usually depicted seated on a lotus flower.

The amulet is made of gold foil and modeled in detail on both sides. The front and back sides were worked separately and then joined together afterward. The figure is hollow and has a slightly flattened right side. At the top of the amulet is a small suspension ring, which allows it to be inserted into a necklace or bracelet and used in daily life or the afterlife. Gold, besides being an extremely precious material, possessed strong symbolic properties, as it represented the skin of the gods but was also connected to vital energy and the sun.

Although it is not possible to determine the context of the amulet's provenance, since it arrived in the Egyptian Museum's collection as the result of a purchase, we can imagine that its purpose was to grant the wearer the magical protection of Isis and, at the same time, a wish for eternal rebirth.

Visitor Experience

Each exhibit, of the exhibition Ancient Egyptians. Masters of Art, will offer visitors the opportunity to come in contact with Egyptian art by getting to know the different artistic branches (painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.) and the materials (stone, colour, clay, etc.) used to create the works, which refer to a particular category of objects and a precise style. In addition, the analysis of personalities who distinguished themselves for their professional and artistic skills, whose works have become iconic, adds further fascination to this extraordinary experience.

Logistics

Museo Egizio's technical staff supervises all handling and transportation procedures, ranging from packing the artefacts until their final installation at the exhibition venue. Museo Egizio provides all needed support to the local staff in order to make sure that the artefacts are handled in the most safe and secure manner.

Exhibition space

Square metres required to display the exhibition:

Circa 150 mq

Showcase typology

All the collection items will be protected using security systems designed to prevent intentional or malicious contact by visitors; systems such as barriers and display cases equipped with alarm/detection sensors are required. The standard showcase requested by the lender should be secured, lockable and stable enough to protect the object from any vibration and/or bumps. All materials used in manufacturing have to be chemically inert without any kind of gas emission. Lighting and conditioning are not allowed inside the showcases unless otherwise specified and agreed upon in writing.