The Twilight of Pharahos
dal 22/3/2012 al 22/7/2012
Segnalato da
22/3/2012
The Twilight of Pharahos
Musee Jacquemart-Andre', Paris
The exhibition draws attention to the most beautiful creations from this period (1069-30 BC) to show how wrong it would be to reduce the "twilight" of Ancient Egypt to ten centuries of decline. More than one hundred exceptional items from temples or tombs, loaned by the biggest international collections of Egyptian antiquities bear witness to the wealth and diversity of Egyptian artistic creation after the Ramesses.
curated by Mr Olivier Perdu
Of the ten centuries that separate the fall of the last Ramesses and the sad demise of Cleopatra VII, we all too often remember only the turmoil that was suffered at the end of the Libyan Period and the invasions to which the country was successively subjected by the Kushites, the Persians and then the Macedonians. As a result, we tend to recall this period only as a long but inevitable journey down the path of decline, during which Egypt would lose its sovereign power for good.
However, if we consider the quality of work produced in the various arts, we have to accept that it does not tally with such a negative vision of the situation, as the workshops continued to create some beautiful objects, if not masterpieces. It is on this evidence, which shines a new light on the last millennium of pharaonic history, that the exhibition intends to focus.
The natural common themes for this tour of the most beautiful creations of Late Egypt remain the three subjects at the very heart of pharaonic artistic output: Man, the Pharaoh and the Gods. Omnipresent in the sculptures, they remain the central characters of multiple scenes that decorated the walls of temples and tombs.
On the ground floor, you are welcome with the most spectacular works of the exhibition in terms of their size, illustrating the different themes and presenting the Egyptians, the pharaohs and the gods. They are united around an impressive effigy of Osiris (Statue of Osiris devoted by Ptahirdis, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and three large “duplicate” statues of Nakhthorheb, an important figure from the court of Psammetichus II (British Museum, London; Musée du Louvre, Paris; private collection), presented together for the first time.
Image: Statue of Nakhthorheb kneeling, Middle of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty (664-525 BC), Xoïs, Amun temple, silicified sandstone, 113,6 cm (H) x 43 cm (L) x 62 cm (P), © Studio Sébert Photographes
Press contact:
Claudine Colin Communication - Christelle Maureau Tel.: 01 42726001 Email: christelle@claudinecolin.com
Museo Jacquemart-Andre'
158, boulevard Haussmann - Paris
Hours: Open 365 days a year from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Open every Monday and Saturday evening until 9 p.m
Admission: full rate: € 11
Reduced rate: € 9.5 (students, children from 7 to 17, job-seekers)
Exhibition audio guide: €3