| Lion of Amenhotep III
Colossal ancient lion statue stands guard at the Royal BC Museum Granite lion uncrated during first peek at stunning Egyptian artifacts
VICTORIA, BC - A 2500-kilogram
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Lion of Amenhotep III Reinscribed for Tutankhamun From Gebel Barkal, originally from Soleb New Kingdom, Eighteenth Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III (ca. 1390-1352 BC) Red granite 111 x 216 x 95.4 cm (43 3/4 x 85 1/8 x 37 5/8 inches) EA 2, acquired in 1835, gift of Lord Prudhoe
© Trustees of The British Museum, courtesy AFA
This magnificent lion once guarded a temple built by the great pharaoh, Amenhotep III. The lion is one of a pair brought back and given to The British Museum by British explorer Lord Prudhoe in 1835 |
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(5000-pound) red granite lion that guarded an Egyptian king's temple 3,500 years ago was uncrated and installed today for the Royal BC Museum's presentation of Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from The British Museum gallery.
Carved from a single block of polished red granite, this magnificent sculpture stands over one metre tall (43 inches) and is more than two metres in length (85 inches). This lion is one of a pair that once guarded the ancient temple of Soleb, in present-day Sudan. Its companion is also in The British Museum.
The lion is the largest of the 144 treasures from the tombs and temples of Egypt's greatest rulers that comprise the exhibit. Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from The British Museum opens at the Royal BC Museum on July 10 and runs until October 31. The exhibit is the most valuable exhibit ever presented by the Royal BC Museum, selected as one of only 11 venues during its exclusive North American tour.
The Lion of Amenhotep III was reinscribed several times. The first inscription was on his breast and equated the wild power of the lion to defeat his enemies with Akhenaten, who was King Tutankhamun's father. Shortly after, a text of Tutankhamun was added on the base saying he was renewing the monument in honor of Amenhotep III.
The colossal weight of the lion and the other large sculptures in the exhibit posed considerable logistical challenges for Royal BC Museum staff. The exhibit gallery required an extensive engineering study to make sure the floors and walls could bear the weight and safely display the large objects. Reinforced walls have been constructed and a specially engineered floating beam was installed to support the walls in case of seismic tremors.
The Eternal Egypt exhibition represents the very best of The British Museum's Egyptian collection, home to the most important collection of ancient Egyptian art outside of Cairo. The exhibit spans more than 3,000 years, from the time of the great pyramids to the fall of Cleopatra. In addition to the Lion of Amenhotep III, other highlights include original scrolls from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a splendid death mask, and exquisite gold jewellery.
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As a supplement to Eternal Egypt, the Royal BC Museum is creating special programs to bring the past to life for the entire family. Visitors can experience everyday life in ancient Egypt at the public marketplace, where they can learn to cook a meal fit for a pharaoh, how to make perfume, and explore fashion and personal adornment. Summer camps for children, public talks, and films will also run in conjunction with the exhibit. A specially-constructed Mummy's Chamber is devoted to ancient Egypt's fascination with the afterlife. The display will house several authentic human and animal mummies, as well as a diverse collection of tools such as brain hooks, canopic jars, and other artifacts that explain the ritual and science of mummification and the importance the afterlife played in shaping Egyptian culture.
During the run of Eternal Egypt at the Royal BC Museum, The National Geographic IMAX Theatre will present the award-winning film, Mysteries of Egypt. This captivating cinematic journey along the Nile River Valley uncovers many of the treasures and wonders of this ancient and mighty civilization.
This exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and The British Museum. The exhibition and its North American tour have been made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund. Additional support has been provided by the Benefactors Circle of the AFA.
PLANNING YOUR VISIT: Advance ticket purchase is recommended due to the expected high demand for the Eternal Egypt exhibit. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Royal BC Museum, online at www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca, or by phone through Tourism Victoria at 1-800-663-3883. Reserved entry time tickets include an audio tour and GST and are $22.50 CDN ($16 US) for adults, $16.25 CDN ($12 US) for seniors, students, and youth aged 6-18, and free for children 5 and under. Family tickets (2 adults and 2 youth) are $65 CDN ($47 US). Tickets for entry times are available every half hour starting at 9 a.m. with the last entry time at 5:30 p.m. (Museum closes at 6:30 p.m.). Once in the exhibit, visitors may stay as long as they wish, and may visit all other parts of the Museum any time during the day of their ticket.
Want more information on Acient Egypt try these books. |
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Mummy Artifacts On Display: Facts
Female Mummy
*A twenty-something female of some wealth.
*Lived during Ptolemaic Period, possibly during Cleopatra reign.
*The young woman's coffin doesn't belong to her. Still searching for
rightful owner.
*Lotus bulbs in mummy's abdomen represent eternal life.
Crocs, Hawks, and Cats
The Crocodiles
* Two of these, only 40.5 cm (15.9 inches) long.
Conservators believe they are baby crocs.
* Exact age unknown, but at least 2,000 years old.
* Inside, museum X-rays reveal a complete, intact
skeleton.
The Cat
* Split into two parts. Linen wrappings brown and
crispy like old newspaper.
* Likely mummified as beloved pet or religious token
to the cat goddess, Bass.
* Dimensions 35.5 cm (14 inches) long and 7.5 cm (3
inches) wide. When alive was probably about the size of today's housecat.
The Hawk
* Size about the same as a modern crow.
* X-rays reveal intact skeleton (even surviving
feathers!) of an Egyptian Marsh Hawk, which has local relatives today in the form of the Northern Harrier.
* Exact age unknown, but at least 2,000 years old.
* Condition good, but only partial wrappings survive.
Head, tail, legs, and a bit of a wing exposed.
* Best theory about why hawks were mummified: as an
offering to petition hawk-shaped sky god Horus for safe passage to the afterlife, much like the lighting of candles in a church.
* Mummifying hawks and other birds was big business in
ancient Egypt. One town alone produced 10,000 such mummies annually for sale to the living for a protected death.
* Wrapped bird mummies were often mistaken for human
babies by early Egypt enthusiasts.
Mummy Facts
Mummification Route to Land of the Gods
* Egyptians mummified their dead out of more than
respect. Preservation of the body enabled the person to "live again" in the Land of the Gods.
* An Egyptian mummy didn't easily pass from tomb to
afterlife. They had to face a dangerous journey to get there: fire-breathing dragons, five-headed reptiles, and serpents wielding long knives.
* Pass all the tests, and you still worked in an
agricultural afterlife. Fortunately, symbolic slaves in the form of tiny tomb figurines called "ushabtis" could assume the workload.
Egyptian Funeral Rites
* The mummification process began with "natron," a
naturally-occurring salt that was used to dry out the body of the deceased in order to assist in its preservation.
* No mummy entered its tomb with its organs, except
the heart, intact. Special knives made from a variety of materials were used to cut out organs and place them into pottery vessels called canopic jars.
* The ancient Egyptian brain hooks were bronze, and
used to extract the brain through the nostrils. It was then thrown away. The heart, not the brain, was the most important part to the Egyptians.
* A lot of linen was needed to wrap a mummy - sometimes up to 35
layers and 10.5 kilograms (23 pounds)
* It took a Greek tourist (Herodotus, 2450 years ago) to let us in on
the mysteries of Egyptian mummification. The Egyptians themselves didn't write anything on the subject. Mummy Bits and Pieces
* The word "mummy" did not originate in Egypt, but is derived from
the Persian word "mummia," their term for a black tar (bitumen) that flowed from the earth. It was similar to the resin used to embalm mummies in Egypt.
* World-renowned Egyptian expert Bob Brier (meet him
in person as part of the Museum's special Mummy Weekend, August 7-8) was the first modern person to mummify a human cadaver in Egyptian style, in 1995. Immediately after, he was inundated with offers from mummy wannabes for his next embalming project.
* There might be a real basis for the mummy curse.
Dead bodies can cause infections for the living. This likely killed quite a few grave robbers in ancient times, but today's archaeologists wear protective clothing.
* Mummy wraps were used for paper in 19th century America when cotton,
rather than wood pulp, was paper's main ingredient.
* The famous Book of the Dead is a 3,000-year-old series of magical
spells that safely sped the deceased from tomb to paradise.
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