THE GOLD OF THE PHARAOHS: 2,500 YEARS OF GOLDSMITHING IN ANCIENT EGYPT
From July 7 to September 9, 2018
Ten years after the success of the "Queens of Egypt" exhibit (2008), the Grimaldi Forum wanted to create another great subject devoted to this civilisation under the auspices of the same curator, prominent specialist Christiane Ziegler: "The Gold of the Pharaohs: 2,500 Years of Goldsmithing in Ancient Egypt".
Thanks to a relationship of mutual trust with Egypt, and particularly with the Cairo Museum, exceptional pieces have been brought together. The aim of "The Gold of the Pharaohs" was to trace 2,500 years of the history of goldsmiths in ancient Egypt, evoking the techniques and expertise of craftsmen and jewelers.
This perspective, rarely mentioned until now, also makes it possible to address the topic of the plundering of these treasures so coveted by the Egyptian people themselves, which explains why so few undisturbed graves remain today. Directed by William Chatelain, the scenography was simple and elegant in order to show the intensity of the works: dark blues that echo the lapis lazuli and ochre to represent the deserts and funerary sites, which bring out the brilliance of gold. An important place was given to emotions with the support of photographs, animated images as well as an animated film, in order to revive the exhilaration experienced by the great archaeologists during their on-site discoveries.
