Treasures of Egypt Revealed

Over the weekend, I spent a little R & R in Little Rock. I did some shopping and had a chance to visit the World of the Pharaohs: The Treasures of Egypt Revealed. The discoveries of George Andrew Reisner.

George Andrew Reisner (November 5, 1867 - June 6, 1942) was an American archaeologist. Through his expeditions, Reisner discovered thousands of historical treasures, including the tombs of Queen Heterpheres, the mother of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) who built the Great Pyramid of Giza. From 1897 to 1899, he worked in Cairo, Egypt, on the Catalogue General Project for the Egyptian Museum. After that he received funding for excavations in Egypt from Phoebe Apperson Hearst, mother of newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. He recognized the need to model Giza in three dimensions. He prepared a model of the Third Pyramid to illustrate how it was built. The model remains in the Boston Museum of Science. He was an experienced Egyptologist, ranked among the most important archaeologists of the twentieth century. He worked during a part of the great era of American museum-sponsored expeditions. Reisner developed a new method of documentation that proved to be more elaborate and methodical than anyone ever had. Under his supervision, these excavations provided us with the best collection, outside Egypt, of art from the Old Kingdom.

By the end of his career, Reisner had excavated one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, the Giza pyramids, uncovered numerous ancient artifacts and masterpieces of art, rewritten Egypto-Nubian history, and changed the course of modern scientific archaeology.

"World of the Pharaohs is the biggest exhibition ever in Arkansas and the first exhibition of Egyptian art to come to Arkansas," said Arkansas Arts Center Executive Director Nan Plummer.

It explores the long vanished world of ancient Egypt. The presentation features more than 200 magnificent objects, spanning 3,000 years of dynastic history, including a majestic colossus of Ramesses II, beautiful amulets, alabaster containers, exquisite jewelry, splendid furnishings, elegant stone vessels, graceful statues, intricate art and funerary artifacts. It also includes a royal decree carved in limestone (Decree of Neferirkare), the false door of Inty, a Priestess of Inty and a relief scene from the tomb of Qar and Idu. Funerary objects are also well-represented. Among them are a Ptolemaic sarcophagus id, a selection of stelae and several shawabits of officials. The objects were selected for the showing to dramatically exemplify the rich and diverse characteristics of one of the world's great civilizations.

The most fascinating part of the display for me was definitely the mummy that was on display. It was by far the most fascinating and somewhat sad piece in the entire exhibit. She was 5'4" and possibly in her early 40's. She died from a broken leg, possibly from infection which definitely could have been treated today.

The Egyptian collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Today, it is best known for the works excavated from 1905-1947 by the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition directed by George Andrew Reisner.

This production is presented by Harriet & Warren Stephens and Stephens Inc. and organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It will run through July 5, 2010 at the AR Arts Center in Little Rock. For more information visit www.arkarts.com.