Museum curators today are facing ongoing challenges to make their collections more relevant for a digital age. The ‘romanticised’ museum of the past has been replaced by the scientific and digital museum of the present and the future. Museum visitors are less willing to read labels, so it is important now more than ever to transform the way that artefacts are presented – moving away from the more traditional methods of simply displaying objects with labels in glass cases, to a more visual narrative, combining science and technology to bring the objects to life and give them a voice of their own through visual display.
The Museo Egizio has seen significant changes to its galleries through major refurbishment over the last decade and is actively exploring new techniques for digital display. I recently attended a Summer School held at the museum, titled Egyptologists as Museum Curators – an immersive seven-day course delivered by professors from the University of Pisa and curators from the museum. The course attracted an international cohort and whilst being taught in English, I was the only English student on the course! Under extremely strict conditions, including removing all jewellery and always wearing gloves, we came face to face with objects from the museum display cases – a fantastic opportunity to get a full understanding of object handling and identification. Meanwhile guided tours of the museum stores and galleries, led by the curators, provided an excellent opportunity to explore the museum through the eyes of a curator.
The Museum in the 21st Century: ‘Archaeology Invisible’
Denne historien er fra February/March 2020-utgaven av Ancient Egypt.
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Denne historien er fra February/March 2020-utgaven av Ancient Egypt.
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
INSIDE THE STEP PYRAMID OF DJOSER
Sean McLachlan explores the recently reopened interior of this iconic Third Dynasty Saqqara monument.
PER MESUT: for younger readers
She Who Loves Silence
Highlights of the Manchester Museum 29: An Offering by Queen Tiye for her Husband
Campbell Price describes an offering table with a touching significance.
Highlights Of The Manchester Museum 28: Busts Of Jesse And Marianne Haworth
Campbell Price describes the significance of two statue busts on display in the Museum.
TAKABUTI, the Belfast Mummy
Rosalie David and Eileen Murphy explain how scientific examination of the ‘Belfast Mummy’ is revealing much new information about her life and times.
Lost Golden City
An Egyptian Mission searching for the mortuary temple of Tutankhamun has discovered a settlement – “The Dazzling of Aten” – described as the largest city ever found in Egypt (see above). Finds bearing the cartouches of Amenhotep III (see opposite, top) date the settlement to his reign, c. 1390-1352 BC – making it about 3400 years old.
Jerusalem's Survival, Sennacharib's Departure and the Kushite Role in 701 BCE: An Examination of Henry Aubin's Rescue of Jerusalem
BOOK REVIEWS
Golden Mummies of Egypt: Interpreting Identities from the Graeco-Roman Period by Campbell Price
BOOK REVIEWS
Old And New Kingdom Discoveries At Saqqara
An Egyptian team working on a Sixth Dynasty pyramid complex near the Teti pyramid at Saqqara has made a series of important discoveries.
Map Of Egypt
What’s in a name? It is easy for us to forget that the names we associate with the pyramids – such as the Meidum Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid or the Black Pyramid – would have been meaningless to their builders.