The Cummer Museum of Art Reveals Treasures of Egyptian Art

Saturday, 02 December 2006 14:01

Jacksonville, FL – Egypt’s treasures from the collection of The British Museum will be revealed at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in December.  The Cummer is one of only five stops in the United States for Temples and Tombs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from The British Museum.  The exhibition opens on December 22, 2006 and runs through March 18, 2007.  This exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and The British Museum.  This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation Fund for Collection-Based Exhibitions at the American Federation of Arts.

Rare Egyptian art and antiquities from the world-renowned collection of The British Museum will be on view in the exhibition comprising nearly 85 pieces from shortly before the Third Dynasty, about 2686 B.C., to the Roman occupation of the fourth century A.D.  The collection explores four aspects of ancient Egypt: the king and the temple, which represents the divine in everyday Egyptian life; objects preserved from the lives of artists and nobles; statuary from temples and tombs; and finally the tomb and the significance of death and the afterlife in ancient Egypt.  This stunning collection showcases a variety of items, including sculpture, relief, papyri, ostraca, jewelry, and an assortment of funerary items.

“This is a major show presented in The Cummer’s brand new large gallery,” said Museum Director Maarten van de Guchte.  “These treasures of ancient Egyptian art are coming from The British Museum as part of the most important collection of this material outside of Egypt.  This blockbuster exhibition will attract record crowds.”

The Cummer’s newest premier gallery opens with this exhibition, the size and scope are unlike any seen in Jacksonville since the opening of the Ramses II exhibition at the Prime Osborn Convention Center in October 1987.  The new 4,800-square-foot gallery is the largest gallery at The Cummer and among the largest in the state.  Local firms Rink Design Partnership, Inc. and Elkins Constructors designed and constructed the new building.

Before its arrival in Jacksonville, which is the second stop for Temples and Tombs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from The British Museum on its tour of the United States, the exhibition opened at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in Oklahoma City on September 7, 2006.  After Jacksonville, its next scheduled showing is at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina beginning April 15, 2007.  The American Federation of Arts (AFA) is a nonprofit institution that organizes art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishes catalogues, and develops education programs. For more information on the AFA, please visit www.afaweb.org

The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is located minutes from downtown Jacksonville at 829 Riverside Avenue.  Visit: www.cummer.org/