The Best Guide

Egyptian relics: beyond royalty
Two years ago, when Tennessee State Museum curators began working on their current exhibition, Egyptian Relics, Replicas & Revivals: Treasures from Tutankhamun, they obviously had no idea a revolution would add such context to the show. The originals of four of the items represented here in replica were damaged during the January demonstrations.

Model Boat, possibly from Meir, Middle Kingdom, about 1900 B.C., part of the Egyptian Relics, Replicas and Revivals: Treasures from Tutankhamun exhibition at the Tennessee State Museum through Sept. 4. COURTESY OF INSTITUTE OF EGYPTIAN ART & ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
The Egyptian exhibition remains on view through Sept. 4. It's a three-part exhibition beginning with an overview of ancient Egyptian life through artifacts and relics; an exploration of how death was celebrated in the culture; and a look at how "Egyptomania" manifested itself in the state of Tennessee.

Ancient history

Egyptian Relics, Replicas & Revivals opens with a selection of artifacts from the Institute of Egyptian Art & Archeology at the University of Memphis (the first time these artifacts have been loaned out for exhibition), including a selection of everyday items dating from between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago.

Candace Adelson, senior curator of textiles and fashion, says she purposely sought to show a different side of a culture generally viewed through the ceremonial items of its royalty, so she chose oil lamps, a headrest, a spindle whorl and a stool made of rushes, among other pieces.

Other items include a model of a Nile boat with 11 figures, one of obvious importance, and a large oar. A stele, or stone monument, shows a person coming before the gods after death; hieroglyphics beneath the scene tell the story.

A series of colorful illustrations by H.M. Herget line the walls of this gallery and depict scenes ranging from a princess at her dressing table to a chariot racing along during a hunt. Pulled from a 1940s book on the ancient world, the illustrations were enlarged and printed in-house using files provided by National Geographic, the original publishers of the book.

Adelson acknowledges that a lot has been learned about ancient Egypt in the ensuing decades, but says these images are still considered some of the best at interpreting ancient life for general audiences.

Once old, new again

Despite the intriguing glimpses into ordinary lives, the lives — and potential afterlives — of the pharaohs remain fascinating to modern people. This aspect of ancient Egypt is explored through a collection of more than 100 museum-quality replicas, titled Tutankhamun: "Wonderful Things" from the Pharaoh's Tomb.

"Most cities across America or Europe will never have the opportunity to see the real treasures of Tut because they'll only go to three or four cities, to the big museums that have the mega-million-dollar budgets — $6 million to $10 million — to bring in a show. We had the opportunity to bring in this show at a reasonable cost and to present it in a reasonable interpretation," explains Tennessee State Museum director Lois Riggins-Ezzell.

Made by Egyptian craftsmen using Egyptian materials, the replicas were made for Chicago's Field Museum, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Pharaonic Village in Cairo. Riggins-Ezzell likens the latter to Colonial Williamsburg, a re-creation of historic areas, in this case the Valley of the Kings and King Tut's tomb.

Among the replicas are statues, beds and couches, jewelry and chalices, and a chariot with large spoke wheels. Seeing the items in this manner provides a sense of scale otherwise lost when viewing things in documentaries or in photographs.

Photographs included in this part of the exhibition do, however, provide an interesting detail about pharaohs' tombs. The photos are Harry Burton's images of Tutankhamun's tomb when it was first opened in 1922 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. They show chambers packed like storerooms with the furniture and other items Tut was expected to need in the next life.

The final part of the exhibition uses architecture, furniture and popular culture to illustrate the lasting effect of ancient Egypt on society beginning with Napoleon's Egyptian campaign.

TSM curator Jim Hoobler researched Tennessee's architectural links to Egypt for a 1987 article and drew upon on that work for this exhibition. Obelisks in town squares and as burial monuments are just one reflection of this link, as shown in photographs and the actual grave marker noted architect William Strickland designed for his dog. In addition to the Tennessee state capitol, Strickland also designed the Downtown Presbyterian Church, a fine example of Egyptian Revival architecture also represented in Egyptian Relics, Replicas and Revivals.
Author: MiChelle Jones| Source: The Tennessean [March 12, 2011]