Egyptian Museum displaying three artefacts for February ‘Piece of the Month’ - Ancient Egypt - Heritage - Ahram Online

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Egyptian Museum displaying three artefacts for February 'Piece of the Month'

After a decade-long hiatus, the Piece of the Month will grace the Egyptian Museum's entrance gate

Nevine El-Aref , Tuesday 2 Feb 2016

Oedipus fresco

The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square re-launched the long-abandoned "Piece of the Month" tradition, which aims at highlighting special artefacts from the museum's treasured collection by displaying them at the entrance gate for one month.

The tradition, which aims to encourage tourism to the museum, started in the early 2000s but was discontinued in 2006.

Starting this month, the museum is displaying not only one piece, but a collection of objects that are off the tourist path or stored in the museum's galleries.

Sen-Nefer tapestry

Khaled El-Enani, the museum's general supervisor, says that for February three artefacts are being displayed; an Oedipus fresco, a statue of an ancient Egyptian holder for offerings and a coloured tapestry.

He explains that the Oedipus fresco, which is being exhibited for the first time ever at the museum, represents part of a wall from a house at the Tuna El-Gabal archaeological site in the Upper Egyptian city of Minya.

Painted in fresco and dating to the second century AD, it shows the Greek Oedipus myth according to the play by ancient Greek tragedian poet Sophocles.

The second piece depicts an 11^th dynasty holder for offerings that was discovered inside the tomb of a nobleman named Makt-Re on Luxor's west bank necropolis.

The third object is a coloured ancient Egyptian tapestry depicting a nobleman called Sen Nefer before an offering table. The tapestry was covering his mummy inside his tomb at Deir El-Madina necropolis on Luxor's west bank.

"I am very happy that the Egyptian museum has started such a tradition because it not only highlights some of the museum's treasured collection that are off the tourists path, but it will also highlight the museum as one of the leading and important museums around the globe," El-Enani told Ahram Online.

Offering holder