Thousands of years worth of Egyptian art and culture are coming to Victoria next winter.
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More than 500 items from the British Museum will be on exhibition when the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) presents Pharaoh at NGV International from June 14-October 6.
The exhibition will be presented as part of the Victorian government's Winter Masterpieces series.
It will be the largest ever international exhibition of items from the British Museum, and the largest ancient Egyptian exhibition ever shown in the country.
Items on display will include monumental works of sculpture, tomb and temple architecture, coffins and funerary objects, as well as a significant display of exquisite ancient Egyptian jewellery.
Exhibited pieces will span from the First Dynasty (circa 3000BC) to the Roman period, providing rare insight into the lives, myths and images of Egypt's rulers through art, design and architecture.
Works on display were commissioned by some of Egypt's most famous kings and queens, including the boy king Tutankhamun; Ramses II and Queen Nefertari; and Khufu - who built the Great Pyramid of Giza. It also features works commissioned by foreign leaders, such as Alexander the Great.
From small sacred sculptures, to monuments of colossal scale, the pharaohs presented themselves as invincible warriors who maintained universal order.
The exhibition will give newfound appreciation of the incredible skills of the sculptors, painters and craftspeople who helped present this idealised image.
Items to be featured include:
- A superbly carved green siltstone Head of Tuthmose III. One of ancient Egypt's most successful military pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty, Thutmose III expanded Egypt's empire to its greatest extent.
- A small ivory label depicting King Den of the First Dynasty, shown as a powerful ruler - the oldest item in the collection.
- A larger-than-life limestone statue of Ramses II (1279-1213 BCE) depicting the great king as a high priest, making offerings to appease the gods. Ramses II was one of Egypt's longest ruling pharaohs.
- The Seated statue of Pharaoh Sety II (1200-1194 BCE), a grandson of Ramses II. This is the most complete sculpture of a pharaoh in the British Museum's collection.
Other highlights include a limestone wall from an Old Kingdom mastaba tomb standing nearly 2.5 metres tall and more than 3 metres wide, and an enormous stone fist weighing nearly 1.5 tonnes - a fragment from a colossal statue of Ramses II.
Gallery director Tony Elwood is excited to bring the exhibition to Victoria.
"Pharaoh seeks to introduce a new generation of visitors to the perennially fascinating visual culture of ancient Egypt," he said.
"The... exhibition will place precedence on the exceptional craftsmanship of the ancient Egyptians, highlighting their refined artistic sensibility and technical skill."
For more information or bookings click here.
