Professor Maarten J Raven, who is retiring after 40 years at the National Museum of Antiquities of the Netherlands, shows us round his farewell exhibition, Gods of Egypt.
For the Gods of Egypt exhibition, more than 500 impressive statues of gods and goddesses, papyri, gold jewellery and richly-painted coffins have been brought together from museums and private collections in the Netherlands and beyond, including the British Museum, the Louvre in Paris and the Egyptian Museum in Turin.
The exhibition is divided into five sections: The Cosmos, The Heavens, The Earth, The Netherworld, and Eternal Life. It opens with a large double statue (1) of Horus, god of the heavens, and the Pharaoh Horemheb (1319–1305 BC), on loan from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Sitting beside one another on thrones, the two figures are of equal size, to emphasise that the pharaoh is simultaneously both human and divine. Horus, the falcon-headed god of the heavens, was also god of kingship over Egypt, and the pharaoh was regarded as his incarnation on earth. The Egyptian king thereby formed the pivot between heaven and earth. The gods tasked the pharaoh with maintaining the cosmic order (maat) that had been brought into being with the creation of the universe.
In order to fulfil this task, he acted as high priest of all temple cults, supreme judge, and commanderin-chief of the army. By building temples and making sacrifices, he showed his people’s gratitude for all the good gifts from the gods. By administering justice, he could maintain the social structure and, as a general, he defended the political unity of his country.
Denne historien er fra November/December 2018 Volume 29 Number 6-utgaven av Minerva.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November/December 2018 Volume 29 Number 6-utgaven av Minerva.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
ROMAN DISCOVERIES AT ANCIENT AUGUSTODUNUM
More than 230 graves have been uncovered at a necropolis in the French city of Autun, revealing a diverse mix in burial practices over a period of nearly 200 years, as well as luxury grave goods from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD that highlight the wealth of some of its ancient inhabitants.
SHAPING THE WORLD: SCULPTURE FROM PREHISTORY TO NOW
The sculptor Antony Gormley and the art historian and critic Martin Gayford have been talking about sculpture with each other for 20 years.
Amelia Edwards (1831-1892)
“I am essentially a worker, and a hard worker, and this I have been since my early girlhood.”
THE GREAT BEYOND
The ancient Greeks thought much about the dead – how their remains should be disposed of, how their spirits might be summoned, how malignant they could be if unavenged. Classicist David Stuttard brings us face to face with the Greek dead.
INTO THE VALLEY OF THE QUEENS
The Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II, Nefertari, was buried in one of the most spectacular tombs of Egypt’s Valley of the Queens. Well-educated and well-travelled, Nefertari played a crucial part in the political life of the pharaoh, and her importance was reflected through her magnificently decorated tomb. Lucia Marchini speaks to Jennifer Casler Price to find out more.
DEIR EL-BAHRI, 1894
Tensions were already high among the archaeologists, surveyors, and artists of the Archaeological Survey of Egypt in 1891 when an eventful dispute arose on Christmas Eve.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
When the Etruscans expanded to the south and the vast plains of Campania, they found a land of cultural connections and confrontations, as luxurious grave goods found across the region reveal. An exhibition at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples sheds light on these ancient Italians at the frontier. Paolo Giulierini, director of the museum, is our guide.
CUZCO 'CENTRE AND HEAD OF ALL THE LAND'
Cuzco was the heart of the vast Inca empire, but all changed in the 16th century when the capital was conquered by Spanish invaders. Michael J Schreffler investigates the Inca city, and how it went from the centre of one empire to the periphery of another.
A STUDY IN PURPLE
A tiny speck of purple paint from the 2nd century AD may yield clues to how ancient artists created the extraordinary portrait panels that accompanied mummified bodies into the afterlife.
Rome In The 8th Century: A History In Art
John Osborne CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, £75 HARDBACK - ISBN 978-1108834582
