In recent years the Palazzo Grassi in Venice has held exhibitions reviewing the major civilisations of the past, now it is focusing on Egypt and Nevine El-Aref describes the stunning display Click to view caption The last exhibition of Pharaonic antiquities in Venice took place 20 years ago. Now the city is hosting one of the most stunning international archaeological exhibitions in the past 20 years, and it will remain open until May 2003. Its title is simple: "The Pharaohs". But the very word Pharaoh, which is mentioned many times in the New Testament, is derived from the Egyptian word Per-aa (the Great House). In context Per-aa often meant the palace and the administrative departments of the government. In other words, per-aa and its linguistic descendant, Pharaoh, symbolise the power and organisation as well as the mystery of ancient Egypt. "When Palazzo Grassi entrusted me to organise this exhibition on Egyptology, I realised that the subject was much too vast. Unlike other exhibitions dedicated to lost civilisations, like the Celts, Mayas, Phoenicians and Etruscans, the ancient Egyptian civilisation is characterised by its extraordinary longevity, three millennia of opulence and diversity," said Christiane Zeigler, head of the Egyptian section in the Louvre and the organiser of exhibition in Venice. "Hence I considered choosing either a period or a specific theme: a historical perspective, a dynasty, a king or a capital; or a particular theme such as religion, funerary traditions, or daily life. Bearing in mind, however, that the aim of the exhibition was to cater to the interests of a growing public, and in order to enable visitors to better understand this great civilisation, a guiding principle sprang to mind -- the Pharaoh himself, the divine kings of multiple appearance whose function and person dominated ancient Egyptian history." Zeigler enthusiastically described the exhibition as not only featuring important works of art chosen for their inherent beauty, but focusing on pieces chosen to provide an overall view of Egyptian civilisation "in its multiple and complex aspects". It was designed to provide a view into the grandeur of religious, political, and civil life in ancient Egypt. Mamdouh El-Damatti director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo said that three hundred masterpieces were selected from no fewer than 34 museums and private collections around the world. Each is a work of art that reveals the multifaceted nature of Egyptian life -- Pharaohs, priests, warriors, royal princes, physicians, and a special relief of a Nubian with two horses. The exhibit sheds light on court and palace activities, the family including the harem, and a wide assortment of small objects ranging from decorative pottery to amulets and jewellery. El-Damatti explained that historically the exhibition covers the predynastic through to Graeco- Roman period. "Egypt itself has contributed 78 objects to this exhibition," he said, adding that although most of the exhibit comes from the New Kingdom it also displays fine examples of works from some of the earliest kings of Egypt. A collection of gold, lapis lazuli, turquoise and amethyst bracelets of King Djer (from Cairo museum), the "Horus name" of King Djet, also known as the serpent king (from the Louvre), and the famous graywacke Narmer Palette from Hierakonpolis (also from Cairo Museum) are a few of the highlights of the display. The exhibition includes the earliest evidence of writing, on objects found in Tombs U-J at Abydos, which make an important contribution to our understanding of the development of writing in predynastic times. The writing is revealed on pottery jars on which there are ink inscriptions and small engraved ivory labels. Of the so-called Thinite or Early Dynastic Period there is evidence of cultural diffusion with the Near East, whose products passed through the commercial and cultural centres like Buto and Maadi. Little-known works of art like the Old Kingdom Sed-festival alabaster statuette of Pepi I (from the Brooklyn Museum), contrast with the better-known Middle Kingdom Sed-festival statue of Mentuhotep II in painted limestone (from Cairo Museum). A small statuary group in sandstone and soapstone from the Middle Kingdom tomb of Senpu (Louvre) can be compared with the remarkable statue of the court physician Udjahorresnet under Cambyses and Darius I (from the Vatican). Such works of art have never before come together in a single display. "The exhibition in Venice covers a remarkable range of objects that not only identify important historical figures but also provide a key to our understanding of the social aspects of our ancient civilisation, not to mention its exquisite art," said Culture Minister Farouk Hosni. The New Kingdom, when Egypt commanded a great empire, is naturally well represented by several powerful royal figures. Some of the personalities who reigned from 1550 to 1075 had a profound effect on their own generations, others set the stage for the following kings and one ruler, Akhenaten, introduced an innovative religious concept based on the worship of a single god Aten, the solar orb, to the exclusion of all others. A sandstone bust of Akhenaten and a gold cup of general Djehuty (from Cairo Museum) are examples of this period. Large-scale photographs of various archaeological sites in Egypt including the Pyramids of Giza, Karnak, Luxor and Deir Al-Bahri temples, the ruins of Tanis in Delta, Hawara in the Fayoum, Abydos, and Saqqara provide backdrops to the objects. "The Egyptian archives make no mystery about harem intrigues, plots and murders," said Zeigler, "and we also know of a number of usurpers. While little remains from the splendid palaces, the tomb furnishings give a clear idea of the extraordinary luxury of the court in which public events were accompanied by complex ceremonials." There have been many exhibitions of Egyptian antiquities abroad since Tutankhamun was first displayed. According to Zahi Hawass, secretary- general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, this international exhibition has been insured in the amount of $136 million. It is expected to be another blockbuster with an expected revenue intake of half a million Euro.
