The exhibition, titled Pharaoh, will open on June 14 2024.
The biggest-ever collection of ancient Egyptian art, culture and artifacts Australia has ever seen is set to open next year at the National Gallery of Victoria as part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces showcase.
In this Australian exclusive showing, Melbournians will have the chance to develop a better understanding of the intriguing ancient civilisation and see these artifacts in the flesh for the first time. Pharoah will bring more than 500 to Melbourne on loan from the British Museum.
Explore Melbourne’s latest arts and stage news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
Featuring jewellery, coffins, sculptures, pottery and so much more, the exhibition features items from across the 3000 years of the Nile Valley civilisation. It aims to unpack the concept of the pharaoh: an all-powerful ruler who was also the spiritual leader of the people.
One of the highlights of the collection is a huge sculpture of Ramses II, one of Egypt’s most well-known kings and longest-ruling pharaohs, alongside the first of his Great Royal Wives, Queen Nefertari.
There will also be pieces commissioned by and of the likeness of the boy king Tutankhamun, Amenemhat III, Khufu (who built the Great Pyramid of Giza), and Alexander the Great.
“We know that ancient Egyptian pharaohs really built a persona and this image that they tried to create could be seen on all types of objects, sculptures, monumental architecture and so on,” says Dr Marie Vandenbeushch, curator of the Department of Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum.
As well as being from being the most monumental exhibition of its kind to ever be shown in Australia, Pharaoh is also the largest international exhibition the British Museum has ever put together in its 270 years of existence.
Pharaoh is set to show at the NGV from June 14 2024 to October 6 2024. To find out more and book your tickets, head here.
