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August 20, 2022 - February 13, 2023
Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs
De Young Museum
Exhibition
Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, was the most celebrated and powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom—Egypt’s golden age. Believed to be a god on Earth, he ruled for 67 years as part of the 19th Dynasty, erecting enormous temples, obelisks, and statues and expanding Egypt’s empire. This state-of-the-art exhibition features the greatest collection of Ramses II objects and Egyptian jewelry ever to travel to the United States. Along with the pharaoh's colossal royal sculpture, the exhibition highlights recently discovered animal mummies and treasures from the royal tombs of Dahshur and Tanis in Lower Egypt.
Visitors can walk among towering statues and immerse themselves in multimedia productions that re-create moments from Ramses’ life, including his triumph at Kadesh, the largest chariot battle ever fought. An optional virtual reality experience, "Ramses & Nefertari: Journey to Osiris," offers a breathtaking tour of two of Ramses’ most impressive monuments: Abu Simbel and Nefertari’s tomb.
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About Exhibitions at the Ancient Art Council
Exhibitions are an important aspect of a curatorial department. The Ancient Art Department has organized and mounted over the years exhibitions showcasing art from different ancient cultures in the Mediterranean. Some of these exhibitions are also accompanied by scholarly catalogues written, edited, or with contributions by the curator in charge of Ancient Art and Interpretation, and published by the Publications Department. Exhibitions, like publications, fulfill the fundamental commitment of the Department to education, research, and scholarship.