Ominous, monolithic wooden doors, slanted backwards to accentuate their apparent height, swing slowly and automatically outward, beckoning the carefully counted herd of visitors into a darkened room lit only with eerie blue light trickling out of hieroglyphic sconces. Doors close behind, the lights dim - so begins the visitor’s journey among the treasures of ancient Egypt. Each visitor’s Egyptian immersion, however, started long before entering the “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” exhibit at the San Francisco De Young museum. The ancient Egyptian “mega-myth” – of grandiose and opulent Pharaohs, majestic, mysterious pyramids, sphinxes, Cleopatra, Ramesses, and of course King Tut – is deeply ingrained through popular culture, glorified in countless films, novels, and even video games. So too is the mystique of the brave adventurous archaeologist fixed in every western mind, patterned after the fedora-donning and pistol-toting protagonists of “Indiana Jones” and “Tomb Raider.” The King Tutankhamun exhibit, instead of exploring historical facts and daring to counter these myths, embellishes and substantiates them, reinforcing the Egyptian “blockbuster” perception in an attempt to satisfy the preconceived notions of the average person in hopes of drawing masses to the museum.
The guiding force behind the Tut exhibit is profit, to attract and satisfy the most visitors as efficiently as possible. The exhibit's backers were clear in their profit-driven motives, and every aspect of the experience exudes this monetizing mindset, from the efficient entrance line to the finishing souvenir shop. The museum curators craftily target the exhibit to reinforce the simplified and majestic popular notions about ancient Egypt...
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...n behind Egypt's Boy King." SFGate. 27 June 2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. .
MacDonald, Sally. 2003. Lost in Time and Space: Ancient Egypt in Museums. Consuming Ancient Egypt, edited by Sally MacDonald and Michael Rice, pp 85-99. London: UCL Press.
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Pyramids, gold, the Nile, hieroglyphics, gods and goddesses…no matter how much we know about it, we all see one of these things when we picture Egypt. However, this image is not complete without the Pharaoh. Not much in Egypt was. So to be considered “The Last Great Pharaoh of Egypt” is quite an honor, an honor that Ramesses III carries. A ruler in the time of the New Kingdom, he gave Egypt a few more years of glory before it’s decline.
King Tut wasn’t a famous pharaoh but he did have mighty power.have you ever wondered what King Tut ment to the egyptians. I know I sure do. What's interesting about this question is there’s many many theories but there is only one true answer. Many people don't know who King Tut was, why he has his own tomb or even is King Tut still a major part in Egyptian history. ("King Tut Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013).
The statue of King Menkaure and his Queen exhibits with clarity the Egyptian devotion of art to a cannon of proportions. Its strictly frontal view point, the rigid poses of the figures, and a faithful accordance to rules and established customs can be interpreted as manifesting the nature of the Pharaoh’s authority over his subjects while at the same time exemplifying the highly regulated, hierarchical structure of ancient Egyptian society. The measured grid of verticals and counterbalancing horizontals, the stiff artificial postures and the overall idealized anatomical shapes of the bodies combined with naturalism is indicative of Egyptian taste for art and a representation of the character of Egyptian culture.
Duncan’s (1991) analysis of western museums is defined through the theme of “durable objects” as a criterion to judge the heritage of American and European art as a ritual of the modern state. In this manner western art museums are built like “temples” as a symbolic and figurative representation of greatness of western culture throughout the world: “[They] are more like the traditional ceremonial monuments that museum buildings often emulate—classical temples” (Duncan 90). This interpretation of American/European museums defines a dominant source of cultural heritage that ritualizes
Primary sources, such as archaeological sites, artifacts and written material from different historical periods gives one an insight into the lives and beliefs of the people and the culture responsible for creating those artifacts and shaping their lives. Ancient Egypt, with its treasure trove of excavated sites, the treasures of the tombs of the Pharoah’s, the vast collection of inscribed stones and detailed papyrus scrolls shows us the beliefs which informed ancient Egyptian culture.
The ancient world was truly a wonderful and interesting thing. Mankind developed and evolved greatly during this time. Also during this time, many advancements in technology helped lead to great master architecture. The Great Pyramid, Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia are some of these famous works. These masters of architecture can often be referred to the seven wonders of the ancient world. Sadly, all but one of these ancient wonders have been lost to the times, the only wonder that still remains is the Great Pyramid of Giza. The topic of my essay is Ancient Egypt. During the course of this essay the basic details of who, what, when, where, how and why will be discussed.
The “The Myth And The Reality” exhibition is intended for the visitors who are interested in
Hawass,Zahi. The secrets of the Sphinx: restoration past and present. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 1998.
The life of ancient Egypt is not as complex as you may think, but there are still many extremely fascinating stories that you may not have know before. The Egyptians were pioneers in a vast amount of areas, like socialization and political forms. They were more into the luxuries in life than many other Empires, yet, still maintained the unification aspect as a nation. They were very privileged in many ways, and this is what set them apart from all the other nations. This book makes a clear significant expression of the Egyptians and how great and prosperous they really were.
Many people are familiar with the pyramids and tombs of Ancient Egypt, yet not as many know about the different types of art created by the lower classes. Documentaries, movies, and television shows rarely mention the more standard art that was created, that didn’t take years of hard labor to create. This art can be compared to the drawings that many people make today, as a hobby to do in their freetime. The only difference is that the Egyptians made art for more practical purposes, and rarely for fun. You would likely find a lot of these pieces in plebian burial sites, or packed away in museum storage. Though they lack the renown of the pyramids and tombs, the different styles and types of art created by the Ancient Egyptians have just as much value as the larger accomplishments, but for different reasons.
A. A. From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Hellenistic World. New York: Michael Grant Publications Ltd, 1982. Jones, Prudence J. Cleopatra: The Last Pharaoh. London: Haus, 2006.
Maspero, Gaston. Manual Of Egyptian Archaeology And Guide To The Study Of Antiquities In Egypt. 1895. Print.
There is no doubt that scholars, artists, and educators remain undoubtedly amazed by the immense collection of treasures that are consistently found within ancient Egyptians tombs. There is true meaning and history behind each artifact that has been found; collectors still see these priceless items as art, and many forget that they once served the main purpose in the afterlife. Everything in the ancient Egyptian culture was meant to serve their highest deities and gods. They created treasures to ensure that their lives would mean something, and many forget to reflect on the purpose of art or an object in general.
Al Ghazali, Zainab. Return of the Pharaoh: Memoir in Nasir’s Prison. The Islamic Foundation, 2006. Pp. vii, 188.
...n 1163 B.C., Egypt entered a period of slow decline (Scarre 1997:116). Pharaohs became less powerful, and their prestige dwindled. Hungry soldiers were terrorizing the community, while tomb robbers were raiding the pyramids for resources that were very much needed. They had buried their pharaohs with food, goods and jewelry, all of which were needed to keep the civilization in tact. They had built too many pyramids, and there were setbacks in Asia which corrupted trade. People did not understand why the pharaohs could not fix the problems that were going on. They viewed them as gods and lost trust and faith. Egypt fell apart as these things culminated with loss of belief in the pharaohs.