An antiquities collection highlighting a century of Italian-Egyptian archaeological cooperation is now on display at the Egyptian Museum. Nevine El-Aref attended the opening The classical music in the air and the Arabian tent pitched on the grounds were testimony to the nature of the event taking place. Dozens of Italian and Egyptian archaeologists, journalists and diplomats had gathered at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square for the opening of an exhibition celebrating 100 years of Egyptian-Italian cooperation in the field of archaeology. 100 objects had been carefully selected from different digs that had been led by Italian excavators over the years. The exhibit is located in the museum's centennial hall, a part of the basement that was converted into a serene, dramatically lit display space two years ago for the museum's own centenary. Development of Italian Egyptology: 100 years in Egypt traces the devotion shown by Italian archaeologists for the uncovering of Egypt's history, highlighting the Italy-led excavation and restoration works of the past century. Alongside the exhibited objects are illustrated panels describing these activities in detail. They are meant to "allow visitors to balance their vision between the objects on display and the written description, giving them an overview of the sites where the objects came from, and the methods used by Egyptologists during the field work," said Pisa University Egyptology professor Edda Bresciani, who described the exhibition as a dream come true. "Italian archaeology's presence in Egypt is illustrated in full this time," he said. The exhibition is part of the Italian- Egyptian Cultural Year, which began eight months ago. It is the result of four months of cooperative efforts between the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and the Italian Cultural Institute in Egypt. SCA Secretary-General Zahi Hawass said that the exhibition reflected the long-term strength of Egyptian-Italian diplomatic and cultural ties. "Egypt has always been an inspiring land with a tremendous culture, and Italy has always shown great interest in its heritage," Hawass said. Italian Ambassador Antonio Badini described the exhibition as a good opportunity to show the depth of relations between Egyptian and Italian archaeology, the roots of which go all the way back to 1903, when Egyptologist Shiapparelli led the first Italian excavation. Maria Casini, an archaeological expert of the Italian Cultural Institute in Egypt, said that the items on display come from digs led by Italian excavators in Sakkara, Fayoum, Sohag, Minya, Luxor, Alexandria, Farafra oasis, and Al-Qusseir on the Red Sea coast. From Fayoum, a stela of Isi-Renenut as a snake and a collection of rolled and sealed papyri from the second century BC are on display. A large funerary painting discovered in a 26th dynasty tomb of vizier Bakhneref is from Sakkara. A collection of small rings, bracelets and necklaces made of ostrich eggs and shells are among the discoveries from Farafra oasis, and beautiful canopic jars of vizier Nebneteru are from Luxor.
