Egypt returns to Pompeii in an awesome contemporary reinterpretation. From April 20 in the Palestra Grande starts the exhibition called "Egypt Pompeii", the second stage of the exhibition, which opened on March 5 at the Egyptian Museum. The project is the result of the collaboration between the museum, the Superintendent of Pompeii and the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
Three different locations to trace the encounter between distant cultures, but historically related and intimately connected through the dialogue between Egyptian artifacts of the Pharaonic era and works of the Hellenistic-Republican and Imperial age which have received the iconography. For the occasion of this exhibition, curated by Massimo Osanna, Marco Fabbri and Simon Connor, at the excavations of Pompeii the newly restored area of the Palestra Grande hosts monumental statues of the New Kingdom (XI-XVI sec. BC), heyday of the Egyptian civilization. The magnificent seated statue of Pharaoh Thutmose I (XV cent. BC) was found in the temple of the god Amon at Karnak, and the seven colossal statues of Sekhmet (XIV c. BC), Egyptian god with a mysterious head representing a lion, who was considered devastating and dispenser of abundance at the same time, come from Thebes, the main religious center of that time. The impressive granite sculptures - on loan from the permanent collection of the Egyptian Museum of Turin - give an extraordinary proof of the world of the Egyptian mythology, as well as representing the Pharaonic power at the time of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Following in the footsteps of Egypt and Isis in Pompeii, the path continues through the halls of the exhibition, with the exhibition of the Aegyptiaca - artifacts and relics of ancient Egypt used in Campania from the eighth century BC as amulets – and an exciting original video installation to evoke cultural exchanges, religious and economic elapsed between Pompeii and Egypt by the end of the second century BC. The visit ends with fragments of frescoes from Pompeii depicting Nilotic scenes with pygmies and exotic animals. On the path there is also a sculpture made by Nunzio (Untitled, 2015), the result of collaborative projects started by the Superintendency with the aim of developing the interaction between Pompeii and today’s world. An iconic symbol of contemporaneity, and also of his uninterrupted link with the ancient times, the statue - which opens the show - explores the expressive possibilities of matter and its relationship with light and space. Outside, in the archaeological area, runs an Egyptian itinerary: from the Temple of Isis, among the best preserved buildings of Pompeii, many houses were decorated with Egyptian paintings, as the home of Pygmies, which opens for the first time to the public after the restoration that took place thanks to the funds of the Great Pompeii Project. The Temple of Isis has been the subject of museological and multimedia exhibitions and panels with the reproduction of items like furniture, statues and frescoes that originally decorated the building and a video made by the Italian director Stefano Incerti, with the intention of representing all the suggestive power that it had when it was discovered. To book a private tour of Pompeii and explore in more personal detail the Egypt-Pompeii connection you can click here, or call our office in Pompeii at +39 081 18777 006 (9 am to 6 pm Italy time).
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AuthorStaff at Flashback Journey to Pompeii. Our goal is to bring you up-to-date information on events, continuing archeological excavations and more on Pompeii. Archives
July 2018
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