Artifacts from ancient Egypt never seem to go out of style.
The mysterious pyramids, the sphinx and the lifestyles of queens and pharaohs continue to captivate us, which is no doubt a big reason why these topics remain part of our grade school curriculum.
With the Royal B.C. Museum preparing to open the doors May 18 for its newest feature exhibition, Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs, museum CEO Jack Lohman is excited to give RBCM visitors a glimpse into the lives and objects used by everyday Egyptians, including their religious practises and their reverence for the dead.
B次元官网网址淲e want to arouse their curiosity,B次元官网网址� he says, calling this exhibit B次元官网网址渙nce in a generation. B次元官网网址淚 think thereB次元官网网址檚 always a fascination with ancient Egypt, partly because they produce such wonderful monumental architecture, when you think of the great temples; but they also left behind an extraordinary relationship with the spirit world.B次元官网网址�
Lohman has direct connections to Egypt, having been a visiting professor in Cairo and served as a technical advisor for the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum. B次元官网网址淚 come with a particular passion for Egyptology,B次元官网网址� he says.
The RBCM hosted Eternal Egypt back in 2006. The new exhibition, with 350 pieces and eight large models, includes a headpiece representing B次元官网网址淨ueen PharaohB次元官网网址� Hatshepsut, jewelry and artwork, sarcophagi and other artifacts. The items were selected from a exhibition previously shown in Germany with material on loan from collections in Berlin, Aberdeen, Hildesheim and others. It is in North America for the first time.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e reselected objects, such as the mummified cat, and in a sort of way weB次元官网网址檝e repurposed it. ItB次元官网网址檚 a way to make it our own,B次元官网网址� Lohman says. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e written the narrative in a way to make it so that it fits with our audiences.B次元官网网址�
A sarcophagus dating from the 12th dynasty of ancient Egypt (circa 1991 BC to 1802 BC) and discovered in 1987 is what Lohman calls B次元官网网址渢he star of the show,B次元官网网址� as it features illustrations and text on both the outside and inside of the coffin.
Preparations done in house by museum artisans
Getting the museumB次元官网网址檚 temporary exhibition space ready for this amazing collection of Egyptian artifacts is no small feat. The RBCM is fortunate to have its own carpentry and artisan studio, where many of the display and supporting elements required in staging such complex exhibits can be built.
In the case of the Egypt exhibition, RBCM staff set out to create not one, but two entranceways to welcome the tens of thousands of visitors expected to move through the displays during the showB次元官网网址檚 duration.
While the inside pieces and displays are the jewels of this exhibit, the grand entrance to the second-floor galleries, as well as the pyramid-style gateway to the exhibit itself, are designed to heighten visitorsB次元官网网址� excitement and curiosity about what they are about to experience.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 our ability to kind of create a look and a feel and give you a first impression and once you get into the space youB次元官网网址檙e really focused on the pieces and the space,B次元官网网址� says Joel Blaicher, RBCM exhibit fabrication specialist.
The hieroglyphics on the main sandstone-look entranceway roughly translate to B次元官网网址淲elcome to the treasure house of Victoria,B次元官网网址� or more generally, B次元官网网址渨elcome to the museum of Victoria,B次元官网网址� he says.
The direct entrance to the exhibit has two doors, one for little ones, complete with a peek-a-boo window with a small display, and another for full-sized visitors. They appear as carved-out blocks at the base of a pyramid, again thanks to the magic of RBCM craftspeople.
B次元官网网址淭he emphasis is really to give you this sense of entering into this very confined space,B次元官网网址� Blaicher says. B次元官网网址淭he temples have some wide open spaces in them, but the pyramids, some of the passageways in them are very, very narrow.B次元官网网址�
Steve Lewis, one of the museumB次元官网网址檚 exhibition designers, conceptualized the entrances using photographs of real temples and creating scale models. He said seeing the ideas brought to life by Blaicher and his team is gratifying.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 always cool to see something you see in a scale model become massive and real and touchable,B次元官网网址� he says.
Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs has a long engagement, running through Dec. 31 of this year. Admission is included in ticket prices for the museum. For more information, visit
Return of the King
In conjunction with the May opening of the Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs exhibit at the Royal BC Museum comes the return, in a digitally remastered 4K format, of the beloved Mysteries of Egypt short documentary at the National Geographic IMAX Victoria theatre.
Narrated by beloved Egyptian actor Omar Sharif, the film takes viewers to the Nile River, the Valley of the Kings, the great pyramids of Giza and more. Audiences get a broad view of ancient Egypt and its iconic structures, with a special focus on the life and death of the boy king, Tutankhamun, and the discovery of artifacts in the shadowy burial chambers in which he was entombed.
For a schedule, visit or call 250-480-4887.
