Journey through three thousand years of ancient Egyptian art and culture at the NGV Winter Masterpieces exhibition for 2024, Pharaoh. This ambitious partnership with the British Museum will bring over 500 works to Melbourne, including monumental sculpture, architecture, jewellery, coffins and more. Many of these works will be displayed in Australia for the first time. The exhibition will open at NGV International on June 14, 2024, and stay until October 6, 2024.
Pharaoh at NGV
The exhibition will have seven thematic sections that explore the roles and duties of a pharaoh. This includes being a high priest officiating in temples, being the head of the country’s administration, being the leader of an army and of course, being the head of the royal family. Through colossal monuments and personal treasures, the pharaohs presented themselves as intermediaries between the gods and humanity. The exhibition will explore the realities and mythologies of life as an ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
Highlights include a massive statue of the legendary Ramses II, alongside a depiction of his grandson Sety II, one of the most complete sculptures to survive ancient Egypt. There will also be a limestone tomb wall carved with hieroglyphs, and an enormous fist from the temple of Ptah that weights 1.5 tonnes.
The exhibition also includes works commissioned by, and celebrating, famous rulers, like Tutankhamun, Queen Nefertari, Khufu and foreign leaders like Alexander the Great.
“Pharaoh seeks to introduce a new generation of visitors to the perennially fascinating visual culture of ancient Egypt through an unprecedented exhibition of sculpture, architecture, jewellery and more from the British Museum in London,” said Tony Ellwood AM, NGV Director.
Pharaoh will be accompanied by a free, family-friendly exhibition in the children’s gallery with plenty of hands-on activities, as well as a new season of NGV Friday Nights.