NGV to showcase ancient Egyptian treasures in exclusive exhibition

More than 500 artefacts celebrating Tutankhamun, Ramses II and other famous pharaohs will be showcased in an ambitious NGV exhibition.

Artefacts connected to ancient Egypt’s most famous kings – including Tutankhamun and Ramses II – are coming to the National Gallery of Victoria as part of an ambitious and exclusive exhibition.

The NGV’s 2024 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces showcase, Pharaoh, will be the largest exhibit ever toured by the British Museum internationally, featuring more than 500 treasured objects spanning 3000 years.

The works will we displayed across the NGV’s entire ground floor, and include large-scale sculptures, tomb and temple architecture, coffins and funerary objects, and exquisite jewellery.

Victorians will be the first in the world to glimpse several of the artefacts in a museum setting, says British Museum international touring exhibitions curator Marie Vandenbeusch.

More than 500 artefacts will be on display at the NGV. Picture: The Trustees of the British Museum

This 19th dynasty statue of Ramses II as a high-priest stands 171cm tall. Picture: The Trustees of the British Museum

Coffin of Horaawesheb dating to about 900BC and from Thebes, Egypt. Picture: The Trustees of the British Museum

Head of colossal statue, probably of Amenemhat III. Picture: The Trustees of the British Museum.

“A lot of (the items) have never been displayed in Australia (and) some of them were never displayed in London,” she said.

“We really tried to build something unique for the Australian public.”

The exhibition would explore ancient Egypt “through the lens of the iconic figure that is the pharaoh”, she said, comprising pieces linked to the likes of Tutankhamun, Ramses II and Queen Nefertari, Great Pyramid of Giza builder Khufu and Alexander the Great.

Dr Vandenbeusch said a specialist British Museum team had “already started packing” items to transport to Melbourne for the exhibition, running from June 14 to October 16, 2024.

This statue of Horemheb and his wife from the tomb of Horemheb in Saqqara, Egypt, is considered a standout piece. Picture: The Trustees of the British Museum

British Museum curator Dr Marie Vandenbeusch examining a statue of Amun-Ra that will be showcased at the NGV in 2024. Picture: Josh Caius

She said highlights would include an “exquisite” almost life-size statue of Pharaoh Horemheb and his wife unearthed in Saqqara, south of Cairo, and a silver statue of the god Amun-Ra that had been buried at the temple of Karnak near Luxor.

A small ivory plaque portraying King Den, one of the pharaohs of the first dynasty, was also a standout as “the earliest depiction of a king in the exhibition”.

“That image of the powerful king smiting enemies is an image you’ll find throughout the 3000 years of ancient Egyptian history,” Dr Vandenbeusch said.

Ivory plaque depicting King Den, from Abydos, Egypt and dating to about 2985BC. Picture: The Trustees of the British Museum

Ancient Egyptian jewellery, including this ornament of a winged scarab holding a sun-disc, will also form part of the NGV showcase. Picture: The Trustees of the British Museum

British Museum collections manager Evan York added Pharaoh would feature “incredibly varied objects” – also among them a 1.5 tonne, 1.5m-wide fist that formed “a mere fragment of a colossal statue of Ramses II”.

NGV director Tony Ellwood said Pharaoh had been more than eight years in the making and – fittingly for the 20th anniversary of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series – would be one of the largest exhibitions ever presented by the gallery.

“Pharaoh seeks to introduce a new generation of visitors to the perennially fascinating visual culture of ancient Egypt,” he said.

Creative Industries, Tourism and Major Events Minister Steve Dimopoulos said the exhibition marked “a 20-year track record of bringing the world’s most iconic art and cultural exhibitions to Melbourne, driving tourism and changing the face of winter in our city”,

ngv.vic.gov.au