Museum Guide

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Temporary Exhibits

When Kingship Descended from Heaven: Masterpieces of Mesopotamian Art from the Louvre

March 8–August 9, 1992

Never before seen in the U.S., 32 objects created in Mesopotamia between 3500 and 2000 B.C. will be on loan from the Louvre. Beginning around 3300 B.C., Mesopotamia gave birth to writing, urban communities and monumental art and architecture. In the exhibit are metalwork; sculptures; cylinder seals; shell inlays; and inscriptions on stone, including some of the oldest examples of royal inscriptions. One famous statue shows Gudea, ruler of Lagash (c. 2120 B.C.), holding a vase overflowing with streams of water full of fish. Maintaining the irrigation canals was a duty of the ruler and essential to agriculture. The statue would have been installed in a temple, where the devout believed it would have independent life, empowered by the king to speak on his behalf to the cult statue of the god or goddess to whom it was dedicated.

Vanished Kingdoms of the Nile: The Rediscovery of Ancient Nubia

Through December 31, 1992

From 1960 to 1968, before the Aswan Dam project inundated many of the most important sites of Nubia, in southern Egypt and modern Sudan, the Oriental Institute conducted archaeological excavations that rescued artifacts from this little-known but influential and sophisticated culture.

The exhibit offers a comprehensive view of the history and culture of Nubia, with 100 objects, dating from 3100 B.C. to the 10th century A.D. Included are pottery, statues, architectural elements from monasteries and articles of daily life such as sandals, beaded jewelry and archery equipment.

One artifact—the Qustul incense burner—may be one of the most important objects ever recovered from Nubia because it documents kingship in Nubia before the pharaohs unified Egypt. Some scholars suggest kingship emerged in Nubia before it developed in Egypt. Other highlights are a 4,000-year-old bowl decorated with images of cattle and a sandstone sculpture of a human-headed bird representing the soul after death. (See also “Permanent Exhibits,” below.)

Permanent Exhibits

Ancient Egypt and Nubia Galleries

North America’s first permanent exhibit of Nubian art and artifacts and a gallery devoted to ancient Egypt opened this January in Toronto. Spanning 6,000 years, the 2,000 items on view have not been seen by the public since 1979. The exhibits contain jewelry, weapons, wall reliefs, pottery, textiles, cosmetics, funerary furnishings, and—of course—mummies. Many of the artifacts document the everyday life of ancient Egyptians. The Nubian civilization developed the second oldest writing system in Africa (after hieroglyphics) and formed cities with roads, palaces and temples rivalling those of Egypt. In the eighth century B.C., Nubia conquered Egypt and ruled it for some 75 years. Under the Nubian pharaohs, both Egyptian and Nubian culture were revitalized. The Egyptian gallery culminates with a rare cast of the huge wall sculptures that constitute the “Voyage to Punt,” located in the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut (1503–1482 B.C.) and that describe the trading expedition organized by the Queen to the country of Punt. Shown are fantastic trees, beasts, fish and riches discovered by the Egyptians upon their arrival. The casts were taken in 1905 by one of the founders of the museum. Because colors in the original have faded, these casts provide an 063excellent record of how the sculptures once appeared.

The Marian Eakins Archaeological Collection

This recently opened collection includes 24 pieces of Palestinian glassware from the Roman period; a representative selection of pottery from the Early Bronze Age to the Byzantine period; and numerous pieces of jewelry from the Bedouin cemetery at Tell el-Hesi, Israel. The museum also includes a model of a dig site, complete with excavation tools (in miniature). Photographs and placards explain the methodology used to investigate an archaeological site, together with a large cross-section of a tell depicting the various strata that might be encountered in a dig.

For a rare opportunity to see a portion of the Louvre’s famed Mesopotamian collection, come to our hometown this spring for cherry blossoms and first-rate archaeology. And if you’re curious about Nubia, that land south of ancient Egypt, museums in both Toronto and Chicago beckon.

Temporary Exhibits