Tutankhamun excavation archive goes online

[TheSearcher]

I envy you Susie that you can go and see the exhibit, would require a bit more traveling for me. Then again, I've set my mind on the Book of the Dead exhibit in London end of this year. It's a lot closer, only a train ride away.

[archernyc]

Don't you wish the Library in Alexandria was still around? What treasures it must have held that could have taught us so much!

[archernyc]

I'm definitely going to go see Cleopatra too! Here's a review from the NYT:

The exhibition is powerful. But that is not really because of Cleopatra; it is because a lost world is resurrected here. There are some 150 artifacts on display, and the vast majority were found buried in the silt and clay of the Bay of Aboukir, off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. Since 1992 those waters have been explored by Franck Goddio and his European Institute of Underwater Archaeology. Using a nuclear magnetic resonance magnetometer, Mr. Goddio mapped the geographic fault lines beneath the clouded waters and has brought to the surface a small fraction of what lies below.

He has identified the relics and ruins as remnants of the ancient cities of Canopus and Heracleion, submerged by tidal waves, earthquakes and wars; he has also discovered palaces and temples of the nearby eastern port of Alexandria, the city that the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great made his capital, and that Cleopatra imagined could rival Rome. The first half of the exhibition shimmers in atmospheric blue light, the artifacts accompanied by videos of their excavation by red-suited divers maneuvering through opaque waters.

New York Times link

Here's another really good review.

I can't see find where it's going after it leaves Philly in January 2011. Anybody else have any idea when/where it's going?

[+susieice]

Oh that sounds good. Told you it would come to NYC

That Book of the Dead exhibit The Searcher was talking about sounds good too. Hope that comes our way sometime soon! Keep us posted on it Searcher.

I would kill to be able to get into the Library of Alexandria. All the great minds of the ancient world went there. So many precious manuscripts lost forever. Maybe we'd find out what Plato meant when he wrote about Atlantis.

Edited August 19, 2010 by susieice

[kmt_sesh]

...

I can't see find where it's going after it leaves Philly in January 2011. Anybody else have any idea when/where it's going?

The Field Museum of Natural History? Please? Pretty please?

Dammit.

[+susieice]

This is the closest I came to finding anything. In the comment section are other people looking for the 4 cities other than Philly that it's going to also. I gathered that NatGeo isn't going to announce them until the exhibit is ready to leave Philly or just before it does.

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/05/cleopatra.html

[TheSearcher]

Oh that sounds good. Told you it would come to NYC

That Book of the Dead exhibit The Searcher was talking about sounds good too. Hope that comes our way sometime soon! Keep us posted on it Searcher.

I would kill to be able to get into the Library of Alexandria. All the great minds of the ancient world went there. So many precious manuscripts lost forever. Maybe we'd find out what Plato meant when he wrote about Atlantis.

Book of the Dead exhibit link. It's in the British Museum right now, but I'm not sure if they plan on moving the exhibit at all.

And yes, getting just a glimpse of the Library of Alexandria at it's hight, would be well worth it, alas, unless we can time travel, that's quite impossible.

[archernyc]

Susie, I started a thread here about the exhibition of the Book of the Dead at the British Museum. From what kmt said about the last exhibit at the Field Museum, it sounds like the BM does not allow a lot of their stuff to travel - probably because it's too fragile or they can't insure it or they simply don't want to let it out of their facility.

Wish I could afford to go see that exhibit, but alas, just can't do it.

I kinda feel sorry for the people of Egypt that so many of their treasures are in faraway locales (I think this every time I go to the Temple of Dendur at the Met). I can't help but think how I would feel if someone sliced off some of Mt. Rushmore or took the Statue of Liberty and put it in some museum.

Re the Cleopatra exhibit, I guess we'll just have to stay tuned and see what develops. Since it's being presented by the same company doing the Tut exhibit, I suspect it will occupy the same place once Tut leaves. At least, one can hope!

Edited August 20, 2010 by archernyc

[TheSearcher]

Susie, I started a thread here about the exhibition of the Book of the Dead at the British Museum. From what kmt said about the last exhibit at the Field Museum, it sounds like the BM does not allow a lot of their stuff to travel - probably because it's too fragile or they can't insure it or they simply don't want to let it out of their facility.

Wish I could afford to go see that exhibit, but alas, just can't do it.

I kinda feel sorry for the people of Egypt that so many of their treasures are in faraway locales (I think this every time I go to the Temple of Dendur at the Met). I can't help but think how I would feel if someone sliced off some of Mt. Rushmore or took the Statue of Liberty and put it in some museum.

Re the Cleopatra exhibit, I guess we'll just have to stay tuned and see what develops. Since it's being presented by the same company doing the Tut exhibit, I suspect it will occupy the same place once Tut leaves. At least, one can hope!

I think it's a mix of both really, too fragile, hence they can't insure it for repeated travel. Imagine what they could claim if it actually got damaged during transport, not to speak of the loss to the world of that happened. It would be a catastrophe, well at least in my view of things.

[+susieice]

OK. It seems as though the exhibition for the Book of the Dead is one that has a permanent home at the British Museum and isn't one that is presented in other museums. I can understand that. These artifacts are priceless and the cost of insuring them would be astronomical not to mention the extreme care it would take to package and handle them safely on their journey. I agree it would be a severe loss to mankind if anything happened to these pieces. I also know that Eygpt is upset that so much of their history is in museums everywhere else in the world and have even tried to repatriate a lot of them. The bust of Nefertiti which is on display in Berlin comes immediately to mind. What was presented in Tut and Cleopatra are under loan from the Eygptian government. Tut will be returned to Cairo after the exhibition runs it's course which I believe next goes to Denver. I'm not sure if that will be the last stop. The laws governing what can be removed from the country from an excavation site are now very strict and carry a stiff penalty if someone is caught smuggling something out.

This brings me to another question though. Are the artifacts being sent on tour authentic or are they replicas to protect the originals from damage? I wouldn't be surprised as they need to be preserved at all costs but still people are able to see what was found. I kind of really wonder about Cleopatra because this expedition is still underway and these artifacts are relatively new finds.

Edited August 23, 2010 by susieice

[archernyc]

I read that in the Tut exhibit, Tut's mummy is a replica which makes sense since I imagine that the real mummy is extremely fragile.

[+susieice]

Yeah. I'm sure some of them are probably real, but the more delicate ones, it makes sense to use a replica. It would be horrible to lose or damage something irreplaceable. Tut has travel to many cities on this tour. The Cleopatra exhibit will only go to 5 in North America. They aren't moving them around quite as much.

[+susieice]

Well, we booked months in advance but I just got back from the Cleopatra exhibit. It isn't as big as Tut's but it has a lot more stone statues and other artifacts. My favorites from this one are the 2 diorite sphinxes that guarded the entrance to the Temple of Isis at Cleopatra's palace in Alexandria. One had a beautifully carved face that represented her father. There are a lot of video displays throughout that show the undersea excavations. The first part was a four minute vid about Cleopatra and how an earthquake and tsunami put the featured cities underwater. Many small statuettes of Eygptian Gods. Some were made of bronze. They show the greening and chipping of things that have been underwater for a very long time. It featured the 3 cities of Canopus, Heracleion and Alexandria. There is a statue of a temple priest holding a jar featuring the goddess Isis. It was the first complete statue found at the ruins of Canopus. In the gallery of Heracleion there are 2 16 foot statues of a Ptolemaic king and queen from the emple of Amon. Also there is a statue of Khonsu and a crown statue. Also a Naos, which appeared to be some kind of an altar, but I don't know. So much. It ends with an exhibit that shows artwork that featured Cleopatra, pictures of women who portrayed her and clips of movies that featured her. Over all it was well worth going.

[+susieice]

There was so much stuff. I tried to write down some of it and I need to correct my former post. The priest was holding a jar with the head of Osiris, not Isis. There was a papyrus that is believed to have been written by Cleopatra herself although how they know this wasn't mentioned. There was a bust of a god named Serapis and a Naos to a god named Shu. There was a Greek sphinx with wings. There was a bust of Caesarian. The jewelry was well preserved. They had a gold and carnelian necklace, gold and pearl earrings that were very large, and a gold lion bracelet. Lots of coins, some with the face of Cleopatra. Bronze statuettes of Osiris, Bastet, and Sekhmet amongst others. Outside NASA had brought in a replica of the Orion launch abort system rocket. A couple of people from NASA were there to explain the display. It's to lock onto the capsule and fly it a couple of miles out of danger. We talked to the man who is driving this on it's tour since the end of September. I know it's been in Chicago and on Monday will leave for Langley Virginia. Then it goes back to Kennedy Space Center. He said that the trailer is 52' long and his truck is 22' and it's all considered a wide load. We were joking with him about getting it through Philadelphia traffic. Over all, it was a very enjoyable day.

[archernyc]

Wow! I can't wait to see it. Did you get the exhibition catalog or is there a companion book?

[+susieice]

There's a book you can get at the gift shop but you can probably still do better getting one online. I didn't see an actual exhibit book but one thing I didn't know was that although there is no photography allowed there are about 5 pieces they will allow you to take a picture of with a cellphone. They're marked and I was so upset because I didn't take mine with me. I left it never thinking it would be allowed. Now I could kick myself.

Edited October 18, 2010 by susieice

[kmt_sesh]

There's a book you can get at the gift shop but you can probably still do better getting one online. I didn't see an actual exhibit book but one thing I didn't know was that although there is no photography allowed there are about 5 pieces they will allow you to take a picture of with a cellphone. They're marked and I was so upset because I didn't take mine with me. I left it never thinking it would be allowed. Now I could kick myself.

Is this the book, susieice?

Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt

I've had it on my Amazon wish list for a while now. (Hint hint...when is someone gonna buy it for me? ) Seriously, if in your opinion the book is worthwhile I'll buy one. I'm sure they're selling either this one or another as the companion book, but if you didn't see it, it's possible they were out of stock when you were there.

This happens. Last Sunday I attended a new exhibit at the Oriental Institute about the origins of writing (one of my favorite topics) and the friggin' companion book was sold out! Oh well, I might well be back there this weekend, too, so maybe they'll be back on the shelves.

I enjoyed your description of the exhibit. It sounds much like how I was picturing it. I am still pained that the Field cancelled the Cleopatra exhibit. I wish I could see it. There's a slim chance the Field might yet host it, but the slim chance is extremely, remotely, horribly slim.

[+susieice]

I hope you get a chance to see this exhibit. It is well worth the effort. You are far more knowledgeable than me. You are capable of making more meaning than I can.

It's beautiful. I hope it sheds light on the times of Cleopatra.

[+susieice]

What is an naos? I'm assuming it's some kind of an altar. Not really sure. That is what it looked like.

[Aus Der Box Skeptisch]

Is this the book, susieice?

Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt

I've had it on my Amazon wish list for a while now. (Hint hint...when is someone gonna buy it for me? ) Seriously, if in your opinion the book is worthwhile I'll buy one. I'm sure they're selling either this one or another as the companion book, but if you didn't see it, it's possible they were out of stock when you were there.

This happens. Last Sunday I attended a new exhibit at the Oriental Institute about the origins of writing (one of my favorite topics) and the friggin' companion book was sold out! Oh well, I might well be back there this weekend, too, so maybe they'll be back on the shelves.

I enjoyed your description of the exhibit. It sounds much like how I was picturing it. I am still pained that the Field cancelled the Cleopatra exhibit. I wish I could see it. There's a slim chance the Field might yet host it, but the slim chance is extremely, remotely, horribly slim.

Wish I had been in chicago that sounds like it was a great time. One of these days ill take a weekend trip to see the OI

[archernyc]

I finally finished The Omnivore's Dilemma, so I can now start on the book from the Tut exhibit. Does anyone know if they allow cell phone photography in that exhibit? I'll probably go before Thanksgiving because after that, NYC will be a complete mob scene with tourists.

[kmt_sesh]

I hope you get a chance to see this exhibit. It is well worth the effort. You are far more knowledgeable than me. You are capable of making more meaning than I can.

It's beautiful. I hope it sheds light on the times of Cleopatra.

What is an naos? I'm assuming it's some kind of an altar. Not really sure. That is what it looked like.

You forgot, susieice, you were supposed to take me with you. I would've been your bag boy, gladly. Unless the Cleo exhibit does end up coming to the Field Museum, it's highly unlikely I'll ever see it. My free time is sparse and I reserve most of my vacation time to visit my sister and nephew out in the Southwest.

A naos is a kind of shrine, generally a box open at the front and rectangular in shape. The recess is usually filled with the figure of a deity. Here's an example from the Field Museum:

It's not very clear, I know, but each man is kneeling and holding a naos shrine. In this case the deity in both shrines is Osiris. This pair-statue is Late Period, so several hundred years before Cleopatra, but the idea is the same for much of pharaonic history. The most memorable example is probably this one, from the tomb of Tutankhamun:

This was on display with the Tut exhibit at the Field in 2006. It was my favorite object in the exhibit: made of wood with hammered and sheet gold overlaying beautifully rendered images of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun. No deity figure was found on the inside, but based on the texts and iconographical depictions it was probably meant for the veneration of the goddess Weret-Hekau.

This is a long way to go in order to say--in my usual over-drawn and tedious manner, I confess--naos shrines such as the ones in my photos provided a means for personal worship, whether you were king or commoner. Some of these things are pretty large, such as for worship in the home, while others were quite small, to be carried in one's travels to allow for the worship of one's favorite god or goddess.

I finally finished The Omnivore's Dilemma, so I can now start on the book from the Tut exhibit. Does anyone know if they allow cell phone photography in that exhibit? I'll probably go before Thanksgiving because after that, NYC will be a complete mob scene with tourists.

I worked the above-mentioned Tut exhibit in Chicago in 2006. All forms of photography were strictly forbidden. I'd wager this is the case for every venue. I have a very small digital camera that takes high-quality digital images. I remember working a private evening showing of the exhibit and being extremely tempted to use my camera covertly. I was even about to pull my camera out and keep it concealed in my hand--until I happened to glance up and see all of the security cameras mounted on the ceiling. LOL No go. I would suggest, don't try it.

[kmt_sesh]

Wish I had been in chicago that sounds like it was a great time. One of these days ill take a weekend trip to see the OI

Stop by any time. I'd be glad to give you a private tour...providing the tips are generous and overflowing. Kidding. I don't accept tips. I spend most of my time at the Field Museum and maintain irregular hours at the O.I.

I'll be there tomorrow, however. Why not stop by tomorrow?

[+susieice]

They looked like the one from Tut and were rather large but all stone. There was no color on any of the statues or sphinxes, all stone but big like they came from buildings. I'm guessing the color was gone because they were underwater for so long. The stone had the appearance of being pocked with a slight greenish tint to it also. Not smooth though I'm sure at one time it was. Very little wood. There was a headless statue of a female body dressed as the goddess Isis that had a bluish color to it. There was an incense burner but I believe that was made from clay, ceramic. The amphora were also pottery. Large jars with handles. I don't recall seeing any hieroglyphics anywhere. Some bronze statuettes of gods.

I wish you would have been with us too. Maybe it will come to Chicago after all or somewhere close enough to you.

Tut had absolutely no photography in Philly too. The exhibits from Cleopatra that can be photographed by cellphone are marked. I still hate myself for not taking my phone in there with me but who knew?

Found a good link that shows some of the things in the exhibit as they were found. They were all there. The second link is the exhibit. Maybe this is why they're allowing some photos. In the background of pic 7 you can see one of the sphinxes. My favorite part. There is another one opposite and facing it.

http://www.fi.edu/cleopatra/

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/06/cleopatra-exhibition-unveiled.html

Edited October 24, 2010 by susieice

[archernyc]

Thanks for posting pix kmt and susie. The naos somehow remind me of the familial shrines that the Romans had (with the death masks of family members).

Funny story, many years ago, I used to work for Versace in the fragrance division. FIT had a special exhibit of Gianni's creations and the NY office was given a private tour of the exhibit. I was the last one in of our group and my curiosity got the best of me, so I picked up the hem of something to look at how the garment was constructed underneath (my college major was fashion design & merchandising). It was fascinating - it was very architectural - but needless to say, a security guard came running over to tell me to take my hands off. That was my first glimpse of real couture.

Back on topic, I can't wait to see the Tut exhibit. If I am able to take any pix, I'll be sure to post them!