Both the Legion of Honor and de Young are open to the public. Please read our safety guidelines.
Ancient Art Department
Ancient Art Council
Legion of Honor
100 34th Avenue, Lincoln Park
San Francisco, CA 94121
Exhibitions
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.
Current Exhibition
Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs
August 20, 2022 - February 13, 2023
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.
Featured & Previous Exhibitions
Last Supper in Pompeii: From the Table to the Grave
May 7, 2021 - August 29, 2021
Gods in Color: Polychromy in the Ancient World
October 28, 2017 - January 7, 2018
Ancient Luxury and the Roman Silver Treasure from Berthouville
September 19, 2015 - January 10, 2016
The Future of the Past: Mummies and Medicine
May 14, 2016 - April 7, 2019
Masters of Fire: The Copper Age in the Holy Land
June 28, 2014 - January 4, 2015
Gifts from the Gods: Art and the Olympic Ideal
July 28, 2012 - June 23, 2013
VERY Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine
October 31, 2009 - October 31, 2010
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs
June 26, 2009 - March 28, 2010
The Museums of Berlin and the Legacy of James Simon
October 18, 2008 - January 18, 2009
Highlights from the Israel Antiquities Authority: The Dead Sea Scrolls and 5,000 Years of Treasures
February 16, 2008 - August 10, 2008
Eternal Egypt: Masterpieces from the British Museum
August 10, 2002 - November 3, 2002
Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Thracians- Treasures from the Republic of Bulgaria
July 31, 1998 - October 11, 1998
Pergamon: The Telephos Frieze from the Great Altar
May 4, 1996 - September 8, 1996
Gold of Greece: Jewelry and Ornaments from the Benaki Museum
April 27, 1991 - June 30, 1991
Ivory: An Ancient Symbol of Excellence
October 4, 1990 - January 6, 1991
Early Cycladic Art in North American Collections
June 25, 1988 - September 25, 1988
Lure of the Past: Classical Art from California Collections
November 27, 1985 - March 9, 1986
Images for Eternity: Egyptian Art from Berkeley and Brooklyn
July 20, 1975 - October 18, 1975
