Égypte-actualités

Priceless ancient Egyptian artefacts are feared lost forever after a fire gutted the museum building they were housed in.

A coin from Queen Cleopatra’s reign during 51 to 30BC as well as mummies, fragments of tombs from Thebes and stones inscripted with hieroglyphics may have been destroyed in the blaze which raged for nearly five hours at the Cuming Museum in Southwark yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters say they have managed to save more than 500 objects that were on display in the museum, which was founded by the Cuming family in 1906 and is famed for its 100,000-strong collection of pieces from around the world over the course of more than a century.

London Evening Standard

More : http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/priceless-egyptian-treasures-feared-destroyed-in-south-london-museum-fire-8549200.html

In the next few days the Grand Egyptian Museum, the new museum of antiquities under construction on the Giza plateau, will receive five artefacts from the tomb of Tutankhamon. The items returned to Egypt in Januray 2013 after being on display in the United States and Japan.

The artefacts will be moved from their current storage location in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square and brought to the Grand Egyptian Museum under strict security measures.

The five artefacts are a golden wooden bed, a wooden box and three models of ceremonial boats. Once any necessary restoration has been carried out, the items from the tomb will be exhibited in the 7500 square metre showroom dedicated to artefacts from Tutankhamon’s tomb.

The new exhibition room is seven times larger than the area currently dedicated to Tutankhamon’s legacy at the Tahrir museum. (Daily news Egypt)

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/02/19/tutankhamon-artefacts-return/

Les premiers blocs de ce monument ont été découverts remployés dans la cour de la Cachette à Karnak par G. Legrain au début du XXe siècle, puis par Sheata Adam et Fardi el-Shaboury au milieu des années 50. Après plus d’un siècle d’attente dans un dépôt lapidaire, ces blocs ont été restaurés par l’équipe du CFEETK (Ministère d’État des Antiquités / USR 3172 du CNRS) puis étudiés et publiés par L. Gabolde en 2005.

Ce monument revêt un intérêt majeur pour le temple de Karnak et pour l’histoire de l’Égypte ancienne dans la mesure où il constitue un des rares témoignages des prérogatives de la reine Hatchepsout exerçant le pouvoir à la veille de son accession à la condition de roi. Consacré à Amon-Rê, divinité tutélaire de Karnak, ce monument porte les représentations de la reine Hatchepsout, du roi Thoutmosis III, de la princesse NéférouRê et des représentations posthumes du roi Thoutmosis II.

En 2008, la Commission Supérieure Mixte Franco-Égyptienne a validé le projet d’anastylose de ce monument à l’entrée du Musée de Plein Air. Après une fouille préventive de la zone, le remontage du Netjery-Menou a débuté en 2009 sous la direction de A. Garric. Principal projet d’anastylose du Centre Franco-Égyptien d’Étude des Temples de Karnak dans le cadre de sa politique de conservation et de mise en valeur patrimoniale du site de Karnak, le Netjery-Menou a été achevé à la fin du mois de janvier 2013. 
Il est désormais prêt à être ouvert aux visiteurs. (CFEETK)

http://www.cfeetk.cnrs.fr/index.php?page=anastylose-netjery-menou

Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim said on Tuesday 12/2/2013 that the Egyptian Museum has received on Monday 11/2/2013 up to 2,400 visitors of different nationalities.

He denied reports to the effect that security forces were withdrawn from the vicinity of the Museum.

In press statements, the Minister also denied reports that the Museum's security men had set up road blocks at the main gate of the facility in anticipation of storming it by protesters.

Such reports are groundless and bare of truth. They are only meant to cause chaos and intimidate Egyptian and foreign visitors of the Museum, he stressed.

Work inside the Museum is going as usual, he said, adding that the Museum doors were closed down at the usual time.

Treasures from the very beginnings of Egyptian history have gone on show at Lancaster City Museum.

From Egypt’s Sands to Northern Hills features a wide range of artefacts spanning a period of more than 3,000 years, brought together from collections across the north west.

The exhibition focuses on objects relating to everyday life and the afterlife, which was central to the religion of ancient Egypt.

Heather Dowler, Lancashire County Council’s museum manager at the city museum, said: “All of the relics on show were discovered by Professor John Garstang while excavating in Egypt on behalf of Liverpool University between 1900 and 1914.

“Professor Garstang mainly excavated in cemeteries, which means the objects he retrieved were often of high quality and very well-preserved.

“Among the objects were beautifully decorated vessels, stone statuettes of ordinary soldiers and a very impressive array of wooden masks. Many of these objects are included in this fantastic exhibition.” (Lancaster Guardian)

More : http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/entertainment/egyptian-treasures-on-show-at-lancaster-city-museum-1-5394056

The ancient Egyptian exhibition Secrets of the Afterlife will open at the Western Australian Museum in May in the latest instalment of the Perth institution's five-year partnership with the British Museum.

Treasures from the beginnings of Egyptian history will be on show at Lancaster City Museum from Saturday, February 2.

From Egypt’s Sands to Northern Hills features artefacts spanning more than 3,000 years, brought together from collections across the north west.

Deux ans après le pillage du Musée du Caire pendant la révolution du 25 janvier, archéologues et responsables des antiquités ne parviennent toujours pas à s’entendre sur l’ampleur des dégâts.

Au Caire, le palais Sakakini laissé à l’abandon commence enfin sa reconversion en musée d’histoire de la médecine et de la pharmacie.

The Manchester Museum holds two very important objects that provide evidence for the use of masks in ancient Egypt. The first is one of the very few surviving masks that appears to have been worn by the living,rather than placed on a mummy. The Manchester example (Acc. no. 123) is made of layers of linen and plaster, and has been painted black – with signs of paint being applied over broken patches of plaster, implying ancient repair. There are holes for the eyes and nostrils, indicating practical considerations for the wearer. A green triangle has been painted between the brows, and the eyes, cheeks and lips have been picked out with red paint. Despite the common assertion that the Manchester mask represents the dwarf-god Bes, this does not seem obvious from inspection of the mask itself. (...)

The other object is a flake of limestone (known as an ostracon), from western Thebes, probably of New Kingdom date and donated by Sir Alan Gardiner. It bears a unique ink sketch: a scene of a funeral. The sketch shows a tomb shaft – of the type known from Deir el-Medina – with a group of female mourners gathered around it.

The Manchester museum

More : http://egyptmanchester.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/masks-and-masking-in-ancient-egypt/

The Ministry of Antiquities is seeking to establish a restoration centre with the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). To move the project forward, minister Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim met with Daniel Vinod, head of the Culture Heritage and Science Initiatives at the Australian Museum.

Vinod revealed the final plan for the restoration centre, including an action plan and schedule covering the period until the museum’s scheduled opening in 2015.

One of the centre’s goals is to become a regional restoration hub. In addition, the centre will work on documenting and restoring all the artefacts received by the Grand Egyptian Museum for its opening.

In the future, the centre will become an international training institute for teaching archaeological restoration as well as supporting research related to it.  However, priority is currently being given to the Grand Egyptian Museum exhibits.

The centre will be similar to the restoration centre in Singapore, which was visited by the Egyptian team in September 2012. (Daily news Egypt)

ON entering his museum, one is welcomed by two bronze statues of cherubim, representing messengers of thought and culture bearing torches of enlightenment. There is also a large statue of him, created by late Egyptian sculptor Gamal el-Seguini, which is a replica of a bronze statue the Italian Government commissioned in 1962 to be erected in the Villa Borghese Park in Rome, alongside statues of a number of the world's geniuses.

Ahmed Shawqi (1868-1932), popularly known as ' The Prince of Poets' in Arabic, was one of the greatest Arabic poets and a dramatist who pioneered the modern Egyptian literary movement, notably introducing the genre of poetic epics to the Arabic literary tradition.

The museum, his last home, is located in a street named after him, off Nile St., Giza. Previously Shawqi lived in a house in a suburb of Cairo called el-Matariya, which location he selected for its proximity to the Qubba Palace, the royal seat of Khedive Abbas of Egypt, who was a close friend.

It was not merely Shawqi's home but also a hub of poets, playwrights, musicians and singers as well as a meeting place for statesmen, pressmen and other dignitaries.

On the outbreak of World War I, Britain proclaimed Egypt as a British protectorate.  Khedive Abbas, who was in a visit to Turkey lost his throne and was banned from entry into Egypt, being replaced by Sultan Hussein Kamel as the Khedive of Egypt.

More on: http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=28745&title=Home+of+the+Prince+of+Poets

This permanent exhibition of the exceptional textile collection of Katoen Natie, tells the history of Egypt in 5 rooms and 600 objects on display.

In the Pharaoh’s room you find among things animal mummies, mummy cartonnages, and fragments of the Book of the Dead.

After the suicide of Cleopatra in 30 BC, Egypt became a Roman province for nearly four centuries. In the Roman room you will discover unique fabrics, Roman glass, funerary masks and imposing sculptures.

In the third room you can admire colourful textiles with figurative designs, ceramics and other artefacts from Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period.

The fourth room explores Arabian and Central Asian influences. In the 7th century Egypt was conquered by the Arabs, with consequent influences on Egyptian textiles. Figurative art disappeared and Arabic calligraphy became more and more important. The flourishing trade along the Silk Road also had an influence on Egyptian crafts. Chinese silk was introduced to Egypt.

But the star attraction of the entire exhibition is the impressive Tunic Room. It houses one of the largest collections of complete tunics and clothing accessories in the world.

Headquarters : Van Aerdtstraat 33 in Antwerp

 New Police and Carriage museums are set to open at Cairo's Salaheddin Citadel in two weeks.The opening of the museums is part of the antiquities ministry's plan to restore and open new archaeological sites and museums.

Adel Abdel-Satar, head of the museum department, said that both museums were closed for more than a year for restoration. Walls were consolidated; cracks that once spread all over its walls were filled and restored, while floors and tiles were cleaned and deteriorated tiles were replaced with new ones made of similar materials. New ventilation and lighting system were installed as well as a new security system connected to monitoring cameras and TV circuits.

The Police Museum is located to the northwest of the Gran Mohamed Ali Mosque. It was first open to visitors in 1986 and displayed a large collection of artefacts that relate the history of the Egyptian police since the old ages up to present day. (Ahram Online-

More : http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/44/64188/Heritage/Museums/More-tourist-attractions-open-at-Salaheddin-Citade.aspx

Ce haut lieu du tourisme recevait autrefois 6 000 visiteurs par jour. Mais ce chiffre est en nette régression à cause des incidents continuels sur la place Tahrir.