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Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Ptolemaic galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art get a facelift


http://theartnewspaper.com/news/museums/ptolemaic-galleries-at-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-get-a-facelift/

Ptolemaic galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art get a facelift

Mummies, statuaries of royalty, and a 72-foot long Egyptian Book of the Dead are among the treasures on show

by Gabriella Angeleti  |  6 July 2016
The spotlight shines on Ancient Egypt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with the launch of two new galleries of Ptolemaic works (from 1 July). Galleries 133 and 134, which are located in the Lila Acheson Wallace Galleries of Egyptian Art in the Sackler wing of the museum, have been revamped; both galleries opened in 1976.
 
As part of the renovation, a drop ceiling was removed that added around six feet of height to the space. New display cases have been unveiled, along with archaeological findings and expert analysis. The refurbishment has been partly sponsored by the philanthropists Marica and Jan Vilcek, and John and Carole Moran.
 
The two galleries show more than 300 works of art that were created between 332 and 30 BC by the Ptolemies, the Macedonian rulers of ancient Egypt that descended from Alexander the Great. An important work is the 72-foot-long ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead of the Priest of Horus, Imhotep (Imuthes) (around 332-200 BC), a series of vignettes written on papyrus that were compiled and buried with the deceased to guide them through the path toward rebirth.
 
Other highlights include three wrapped mummies and their coffins, faience tiles from a shrine, statuaries that depict royalty such as queen Cleopatra VII, and other personal, domestic and funerary items from the period.

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