Treasures of the Pharaohs to be exhibited at the special exhibition by the Czech Institute of Egyptology

The Czech Institute of Egyptology of the Charles University Faculty of Arts is working on a new exhibition Treasures of the Pharaohs, based on the collections from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and other world-renowned museums, as well as the original research of Czech Egyptologists.

Conceptually, the exhibition takes place on four intersecting planes that correspond to the particular stages of history of the country of Egypt. Each of these is a story of one of the main epochs of the political, economic and cultural watersheds of ancient Egypt. Also presented will be the most recent findings of the current multi-disciplinary research. The story of Czech Egyptology will complement the exhibition, introducing the history of Czech archeology research in Egypt. 

The five stories: 1. The Story of the Nile, 2. The Birth of the Kingdom. 3. The Story of the Majesty. 4. The Return to the Roots. 5. Czech Egyptology.

The concept of the project and the preliminary choice of exhibits will allow for a modern design of the exhibition with a web with the essential exhibits serving as nodes, constituting the main chronological narrative. The narrative will be further developed in the subtopics of particular eras. The exhibition will take advantage of the experience the team have gained while competing for the project of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).

The core of the exhibition will consist of the pieces from the collection of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, originating in the key archeological sites of Egypt, such as the Giza Plateau or the Valley of the Kings. At the forefront, the exhibition will boast a selection of objects from the Tutankhamun's treasure, the icon of ancient Egypt and the symbol of Egyptian archeology. These artifacts will be complemented by selected pieces from European collections of Egyptian art, totaling 200 exquisite pieces of art exhibited for the first time on this scale. Important among these will be the collection of objects discovered by the Czech team in the pyramid fields of Abusir in the course of the last 50 years, formerly exhibited at the Discoveries of Ancient Egypt: Fifty Years of the Egyptian-Czech Collaboration in Archaeology exhibition at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which commemorated the history and tradition of Czech Egyptology.

The 2012 exhibition has the potential to become a truly unique event, representing the intense cooperation between the Czech Republic and Egypt in the fields of science and culture. Except for minor exhibitions based on Czech collections, the Czech public has not yet had a chance to meet the cultural legacy of ancient Egypt face to face. The Prague Castle Riding School will provide a safe environment for the exhibits and an opportunity to fully realize the proposed cyclical narrative of ancient Egypt.

Translation: Jaroslav Švelch