"The Quest for Immortality" is the summer blockbuster, writes Thomas Gorguissian in Washington Click to view caption It is "a must-see cultural event", "not to be missed". These and similar observations have been voiced aloud and appeared again and again in the national papers since the exhibition on ancient Egyptian religion (Al-Ahram Weekly, 20 June) opened in Washington on 30 June. Visitors of all ages are hurrying to see the 143 objects on show at Washington's National Gallery of Art and Ancient Egypt, with 8,000 people attending on the first day. The gallery says 5,000 have visited each day since the opening. The exhibition will run until 14 October before going on to tour 14 cities in the United States and Canada over the next five years. Right here at the National Gallery, a quarter of a century ago, it was the "King Tut" show that drew the crowds. Now it is "The Quest for Immortality -- Treasures of Ancient Egypt", the gallery's third exhibition dedicated to the art of Ancient Egypt. The first in 1961 displayed 34 small objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun; the second in 1976-1977 was the famous blockbuster, Treasures of Tutankhamun, which included 55 priceless treasures and attracted more than 830,000 people to the gallery before it went on to Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and San Francisco. The then Egyptian foreign minister, Ismail Fahmi, the late father of the present Egyptian ambassador, played a major role in facilitating the tour. "King Tut" was regarded as Egypt's greatest ambassador to America. "The National Gallery's long tradition of bringing great art to the United States to expand Americans' understanding of world cultures is enhanced by this exhibition," the gallery's director, Earl A Powell III, said. Introducing the current exhibition, Egypt's Ambassador Nabil Fahmi said: "Egypt is proud of its rich heritage and feels duty- bound to share it with the world at large. 'The Quest for Immortality' is a fascinating and vivid exhibition that will leave long-standing impressions and make an invaluable contribution to cultural understanding between Americans and Egyptians." Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, who addressed hundreds of dignitaries at the gala reception prior to the official opening, said that the Goddess Maat -- a two-and-a-half inch high statuette of a seated woman -- was his favourite piece in the exhibition. "The symbol and the message it conveys is justice and fairness," he said. "Maat represents the moral and ethical values of ancient Egyptian society." Betsy Bryan, chairperson of the Department of Near East Studies, Alexander Badawy Professor of Egyptian Art and Archaeology at the Johns Hopkins University and the curator of "The Quest for Immortality", spoke at a press preview of her fascination with ancient Egypt since her childhood. "I was 10 years old when I fell in love with Egyptian art while visiting a mummy display at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond," she said. In a review published by The Washington Post she said. "I think the exhibition is a good index of what people in my field are interested in right now. For the last 25 or 30 years the study of ancient Egyptian religion has been extremely popular. What we've learned is the importance of the sun god in bringing a balance between order and chaos." Many art critics agree that the simulated Amduat -- the great text describing the sun god's 12-hour journey through the underworld -- and the life-sized facsimile of the tomb of Thutmosis III, are the main attractions. Powell believes that this show is an effort to go deeper into the subject. "This is the first scholarly exhibition of real magnitude in many years," he said. "We already know Egyptian art through the justifiably popularised monuments of ancient Egypt. But this is a very different sort of show than that of Tutankhamun, which was built around the tomb and personality of one figure. All of the objects here relate to the journey to the afterlife, they articulate the belief system." However, the content of the exhibition has aroused some dissent among experts. In The New York Times Holland Cotter commented: "It's too bad the show could not have made more of such unfamiliar material and ideas, and shaken up accepted views of an ancient art long since embalmed in modern cliché. Surely there's another Egypt out there waiting to be revealed, one full of surprises and fresh beauties. But the Egypt we get here is the one we've always known and had mixed feelings about, defined by an oppressive, autocratic ideology and a formally resplendent art." Whether or not the message should have gone further, the treasures in this exhibition are meant to give a taste of what is out there, to present an appetiser for more of the great variety that is Egypt. Fahmi said the exhibition would "help rekindle interest and fascination in Egyptian culture" and, it is hoped, attract more tourists. "Egypt is a safe destination, safer than many cities in the United States," Hawass said. "We are a peaceful people who love Americans and we can offer magic in your heart that you will never find any other place." While visitors were encountering Ancient Egypt's "Quest for Immortality", Hawass talked to American and foreign reporters about what Egypt was planning in the coming months, and years, to make its unlimited treasures better known. "Let's meet next December in Cairo for the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Egyptian Museum," he said. Then he turned to Egyptian reporters to remind them of the necessity, indeed the importance, of taking every opportunity to talk about Egypt, not only just what it was in ancient times, but who Egyptians are today. The exhibition had already provoked discussion about Egypt and Egyptians. "And that itself is an achievement," he said.
