The inner walls of the pyramid of Old Kingdom Pharaoh Pepy I (r. 2321-2287) were ravaged in antiquity, along with his funerary equipment. This surviving limestone fragment with finely incised and painted hieroglyphs represents a section of the Pyramid Texts, religious incantations designed to guarantee the ruler eternal life after death. The artisan took great care in carving the hard slab's characters with sharp precision. This object is one of more than 160 works of art and artifacts from the collection of London's Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology presently on tour in the United States.
Read a review of the exhibition's catalogue.
"Excavating Egypt: Great Discoveries from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London" is on view from February 17 through July 22, 2007 at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (Telephone: 413-538-2245; Website). The remainder of the exhibition's tour schedule is: Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe (August 24, 2007-January 6, 2008); Columbia Museum of Art, SC (January 24-June 8, 2008); Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, FL (June 28-November 2, 2008); and University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington, KY (March 14-June 14, 2009).
This picture comes from one of the many special art exhibitions available to you during Spring and early Summer of 2007. To view the full list of shows, please see this page.
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From your Guide: Stan Parchin, Senior Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions, is a specialist in ancient, late-medieval and Renaissance art and history, and a regular contributor to About Art History. You may read all of his Special Exhibition and Catalogue Reviews here.
