The new exhibition ‘Expedition Egypt’ of the Museum of Art and History is under the patronage of Queen Mathilde and tells the story of two centuries of fascinating archaeological discoveries in the land of the pharaohs and the creation of the Egyptian collection from the museum and in Belgium .
It is remarkable that the exhibition not only tells the story of Ancient Egypt, but especially the story of how many Egyptian showpieces ended up in our country.
That story begins in the 19th century, when diplomatic and industrial Belgium became increasingly interested in Egypt. Leopold II, then Duke of Brabant, brought many artifacts and sarcophagi from the land of the pharaohs.
Thousands of objects were subsequently added to the collection. This archival collection today consists of more than 12,000 pieces – of which more than 200 objects are on display for the first time to the general public.
The exhibition includes the richly decorated sarcophagi from the priestly hiding place of Deir el-Bahari, a monumental statue of the goddess Sekhmet and the Book of the Dead of Neferrenpet.
Queen Mathilde
Yet the exhibition also throws a new perspective on Belgium’s discoveries in Ancient Egypt. For example, the artistic interventions of Sara Sallam, born in Cairo in 1991, show how contemporary Egyptian identity is in stark contrast to how the history of Egyptology came about in our country.
The exhibition is under the patronage of Queen Mathilde, who will visit the recently opened exhibition on Thursday.
The expo is open to the general public from Friday, March 31 to October 10, 2023.
This article is originally published on bruzz.be
