The New Galleries of. And Nubia

Transcription

1 The New Galleries of Ancient Egypt And Nubia

2 CONTENTS Introduction The collections Transforming the galleries Facts, figures & timeline The new galleries Conserving the collections Contemporary artist s response: Angela Palmer Benefactors & supporters Architecture & construction Biographies New guide to the Egypt and Nubia galleries The Ashmolean Museum Contact details

3 introduction On 26 November 2011, the Ashmolean will open to the public the new galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia. Building on the success of the Museum s new extension, which opened in 2009, this second phase of major redevelopment will redisplay the world renowned collections from ancient Egypt and Nubia. State of the art facilities will allow the Museum to exhibit objects that have been in storage for decades and will more than double the number of mummies and coffins on display. The 5 million transformation has received lead support from Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, KG. THE COLLECTIONS Collected over 300 years, the Ashmolean s Egyptian holdings tell some of the most interesting stories of archaeological discovery which have made Egyptology so popular and fascinating. Over the years the Museum has amassed iconic pieces such as the wallpainting depicting the daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti; the Shrine of Taharqa from the temple at Kawa the only complete free-standing pharaonic building in Britain; and the colossal limestone statues of the fertility god Min which date to 3300 BC. The Ashmolean s Egyptian and Sudanese collections now number more than 40,000 artefacts. Early Archaeology The Ashmolean Museum has played a leading role in the archaeology of Egypt and Sudan for several centuries. Thanks to the work of archaeologists such as Sir William Flinders Petrie and Professor Francis Llewellyn Griffith, it has one of the finest collections in the world. Today, the Ashmolean is among the few places where it is possible to explore the civilizations of the Nile valley across thousands of years, from their prehistoric origins to the impact of the Roman Empire. 3

4 TRANSFORMING THE GALLERIES Rick Mather Architects, the construction partner Beard, and the Museum s curatorial and design teams have created a new sequence of six galleries with improved routes through the displays, presenting the collections under broad themes: Egypt at its Origins Dynastic Egypt and Nubia Life After Death in Ancient Egypt the amarna revolution Egypt in the Age of Empires Egypt Meets Greece and Rome ground floor 4

5 Innovative displays The displays are transformed in line with the Ashmolean s new display strategy, Crossing Cultures Crossing Time, to integrate the collections within the wider Museum. The project provides new lighting and showcases with state of the art facilities and completes the Museum s Ancient World Floor, with galleries for the world s great civilisations: Galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia the Ancient Near East the Aegean World Classical Greece and Rome India to ad 600 Early China and Japan One of the great gallery spaces within the Ashmolean, which had previously been occupied by the Museum Shop, is at last restored as such to display the Predynastic and Protodynastic Egyptian collections, with openings through to the pre-existing Egypt galleries creating a continuous circuit. The gallery housing the Shrine of Taharqa has been opened up, with a daylight ceiling to illuminate this impressive monument. 5

6 MAKING IT HAPPEN 5,000, ,000 40, Facts & figures pounds is the cost of the development man hours of construction have taken place objects have been rehoused hours of conservation work have been carried out square metres is the total area of the new galleries tonne crane lifted the plant onto the Petrie Gallery roof new showcases have been designed and installed large-scale heavy sculptures have been moved mummy has had a CT scan at the Churchill Hospital Timeline Oxford City Council grant planning permission Collections begin to move into storage Galleries closed for start of construction work Ground floor Shop closed for move downstairs New Shop opened on lower-ground floor Construction completed; installation begins New galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia open to public nov 2010 dec 2010 jan 2011 feb 2011 mar 2011 sept nov

7 THE NEW GALLERIES The Ashmolean s collections are among the most important outside Egypt and one of the Museum s most popular attractions. This exciting series of new galleries will transform opportunities for using the collections for teaching and research at all levels, and the way in which they are enjoyed and cared for well into the future. Egypt at its Origins Gallery 22 the lisa and bernard selz gallery The first gallery investigates the origins of ancient Egyptian civilisation, from the Paleolithic period (c.1,000,000 10,000 BC) to the unification of the country under a single king at the start of the Early Dynastic period (c.3000 BC). The centre of the gallery is dominated by the striking limestone statues of the fertility god Min (c.3300 BC). These are two of three statues of the Egyptian deity which were excavated at Koptos in by W M Flinders Petrie, the renowned Egyptologist. They are among the oldest preserved stone sculptures in the world. Petrie s excavations presented many other pieces of early Egyptian art to the Ashmolean, making its collection of early Egyptian material one of the most significant to be found anywhere outside Cairo. Many items on display in this gallery are from Hierakonpolis, the City of the Falcon, one of the largest Predynastic towns to be excavated in Egypt. Highlights include the ceremonial Two- Dog palette - a double-sided cosmetic palette of the type used for grinding eye paint. Ceremonial slate palette From the Main Deposit at Hierakonpolis, c.3000 BC Statue of Min Late Predynastic Period, c.3300 BC 7

8 Dynastic Egypt and Nubia Gallery 23 the christian levett family gallery Displays in this gallery chart the progress of ancient Egyptian culture, from the funerary concerns of Old Kingdom officials (c BC), through the monumental building projects of Middle Kingdom kings (c BC), to Egypt s relationship with other civilisations on its borders (down to c.1540 BC). The display of an entire Pan-Grave burial assemblage in this gallery gives a striking insight into one of the often over-looked cultures on the periphery of Egypt. The centrepiece of the gallery is the Shrine of Taharqa, which is the only pharaonic building in Britain. It was originally built around 680 BC as part of the temple complex at Kawa in Nubia (ancient Sudan) which had been restored by the Pharaoh Taharqa. In its original state the carved sandstone reliefs would have been painted in bright colours, but after the temple had been abandoned the combination of wind and sand took its toll. The shrine was built in honour of the god Amun and on the base of the statue of the Ram who guards the entrance to the Shrine we find a hieroglyphic inscription proclaiming Taharqa to be the son of Amun. In order to convey its original setting in the temple complex, the footprint of four columns has been incorporated into the gallery layout following the curved indents in the wall of the shrine. Shrine of Taharqa From Kawa in Sudan, 25 th Dynasty, BC Detail from the Shrine of Taharqa Ram of Amun From Temple T at Kawa, c.680 BC 8

9 Life After Death IN ancient Egypt the sackler gallery Gallery 24 Ensuring eternal life was an important task for ancient Egyptians. Non-royal Egyptians believed in different types of afterlife, including eternal life lived in the tomb as a ka (soul), and an afterlife lived in the Field of Reeds, the kingdom of the god Osiris. The objects displayed in this gallery all served as practical tools designed to help their owner make the journey from death to the afterlife and to provide for them for eternity. Central to the displays are the nested coffins and mummy of Djeddjehutyiuefankh; funerary models; and canopic jars shown alongside coffin lids. Canopic jars were used to store the deceased s organs following an intricate ritual to mummify the body, while amulets were believed to possess protective qualities and were placed between the bandages during the mummification process. The colourful paintings featured throughout the gallery are the work of the artist Nina de Garis Davies who, with her Egyptologist husband Norman de Garis Davies, recorded Theban tombs from 1907 until the outbreak of the Second World War. Her copies of wall paintings found in the tombs are noted for their extremely faithful reproduction of the colour and texture of the originals. Detail from a copy of wall painting from private tomb of Ramose, Thebes, showing funeral procession, by Nina Davis ( ) Stela of the Inspector of the Fields, Imeny Abydos cemetary east of the Osiris Temple, 12 th Dynasty, about BC Coffin lid of the Theban Priest Djeddjehutyiuefankh Deir el-bahri, Western Thebes, 25 th Dynasty, BC 9

10 The Amarna Revolution Gallery 25 When Amenhotep IV became king of Egypt in the 18 th dynasty he broke with religious and political tradition and worshipped the sun as a creative force called the Aten. He changed his name to Akhenaten and built a new capital city called Akhetaten (now known as Tell el- Amarna) where he lived with his queen, Nefertiti, and their six daughters in the new royal palaces, parts of which are replicated here including a fragment of the painted floor. The informal theme of palace life is beautifully conveyed in the Princesses fresco. This fragment of wall painting is the lower part of a scene depicting Akhenaten and Nefertiti relaxing with their daughters, two of which are sitting casually on floor cushions in the foreground. The informal style and subject of this painting was in direct contrast to conventional Egyptian art. The Daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti Detail of a wall-painting from the King s House at Tell el-amarna, 18 th Dynasty, c BC Queen Nefertiti offering a bouquet to Aten Limestone fragment from a column, from Tell el-amarna, possibly from the Great Palace, 18 th Dynasty, c BC. 10

11 Egypt IN the AGE OF EMPIREs Gallery 26 This gallery covers the period after Akhenaten s demise up to the Greek and Roman conquests of Egypt. During the New Kingdom (c BC) the tomb of the pharaoh took the form of a series of corridors and chambers cut into the cliffs on the western side of the Nile at Thebes in the Valley of Kings. A main theme in this gallery is the lives of the community of workmen - masons, craftsmen and artists - who lived in the village now known as Deir-el-Medina and worked in the royal tombs. Thousands of documents excavated from the site, mainly in the form of limestone ostraca (chips of stone on which the villagers drew and wrote as a cheap and readily available medium) reveal a huge amount about the daily life of this village, from the cost of hiring a donkey to the outcome of court cases. The Ashmolean has one of the largest collections of ostraca in the world and the selection on show here gives a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the inhabitants of this community. Contrasting with these small chips is the large Sinuhe Ostracon, inscribed with the Tale of Sinuhe, one of the most important examples of Ancient Egyptian literature. Another display explores the role of sacred animals in the cult of deities, something which fascinated Greek and Roman visitors to Egypt. Many gods were associated with an animal (such as Amun and the Ram) which could be worshipped as a living manifestation of the deity. This practice emerged in the Late Period when animals were bred within the temple enclosures of their relevant deity in order to be sacrificed. They were then mummified and buried in dedicated animal catacombs. Mummified ibis From Saqqara, Egypt, Ptolomaic Roman period c BC Limestone stela depicting Ramesses II offering incense to Isis From temple of Min at Koptos, 19 th Dynasty, c BC 11

12 Egypt MEets GREeCE AND ROME Gallery 27 The final room in the sequence of galleries charts the history of Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great in 305 BC and the division of his empire. Egypt fell to his general, Ptolemy, who declared himself king and the first leader of the Ptolomaic Dynasty which lasted until the suicide of Cleopatra in 30 BC when Egypt formally became a Roman province. Displays in the gallery show the change in funerary practices during this period. In Hellenistic Greece and Rome there was no shared belief in an afterlife, and it was therefore important to attract lasting recognition of an individual s lifetime achievements. Some wealthy Greeks and Romans were remembered with portrait statues like those displayed in the wall niches. In Ptolomaic Greek and Roman Egypt painted portraits were combined with strict observance of Egyptian ritual to ensure an afterlife. Some mummified corpses had their faces covered with painted wooden panels which portrayed the dead as subjects of the Greek-speaking provinces of the Roman Empire. Mummy portrait of a young man 2nd century AD ( AD) 12

13 CONSERVING THE COLLECTIONS Over months of painstaking work and many thousands of man-hours, the Ashmolean s Conservation team has been deployed on one of the world s largest and most technically advanced projects in recent history. The Egypt redevelopment has required the assessment and conservation of thousands of artefacts, some of which, until this year, had been in storage since the Second World War. Conservation work on a wooden model boat, Middle Kingdom, c BC In autumn 2010, staff began removing some 40,000 objects from their old displays, packing them away or sending them for conservation treatment, before the heavy construction work in the gallery spaces began in January Other objects not previously on show have been brought out of storage to be conserved and prepared for the new galleries. These represent some of the Museum s most important and fascinating pieces chief among them a group of mummies and their intricately decorated coffins which, for the first time, will be given the space they need and the precision controlled environment necessary to display and preserve them. The singular combination of the Ashmolean s new conservation facility, opened in 2009; its location in Oxford a world-leading centre of science and technology; and huge advances in conservation science made in the last 10 years, have put the Museum s Egypt project at the very forefront of art and archaeological conservation. Conservation of a female mummy, 2 nd century AD The impressive number of artefacts which have required treatment has exploited to the full the department s new resources and the expertise of different conservators. Many of the objects from the Egyptian collection are extraordinarily complex. Mummies and their coffins have constituent parts which include textiles wrapped around the body; amulets which were sometimes placed within the bandages; mummy portraits painted on linen or wooden boards; and the coffins and their lids, with painted decoration. The fragility of some of the pieces has demanded on-thespot problem solving. To treat the bandages wrapped around a mummy, while minimizing movement of the body, Textile Conservator Sue Stanton modified an idea for a bespoke table first used at the Bristol Museums and Art Gallery. With a top made from modular leaves, the table allows a textile conservator 360 access to the mummy s wrappings, by lying on 13

14 a mechanic s creeper board underneath, removing sections of the table as she works around the mummy in a circle. Some of the most beautiful and enigmatic artefacts going on display in the new galleries are a selection of Roman era mummy portraits. Excavated by the famous W M Flinders Petrie at Hawara from , many were so completely rotten that they could not be recovered from the ground. The Ashmolean s portraits survived in storage as fragments. These have now been treated in the laboratories by Paintings Conservator, Jevon Thistlewood. Mummy portrait of a young man, 2 nd century AD The forensic approach taken to the examination of objects like the portraits and coffins has produced new information about the pigments used in ancient Egyptian art, and conservation methods used in the 19 th and 20 th centuries. The Ashmolean s new galleries will give the collections the benefit of these recent advancements in conservation science and the ability of manufacturers to make sophisticated showcases which can preserve fragile objects. The Museum s conservators have worked closely with the showcase manufacturers to create pioneering designs which even surpass the hardware in the Ashmolean s new building. The cases for the Egypt galleries integrate beautiful displays with high specification environmental controls. Each case provides a micro-climate tailored to the specific needs of the objects in it, doing away with the need for full air conditioning, which is, at the same time, more environmentally friendly. Surface cleaning on the coffin lid from the nested coffins of Djeddjehutyiuefankh, c BC While the project works towards the installation of the galleries, the conservation laboratories themselves have provided some truly spectacular, even surreal scenes over the course of For much of the year large and small Egyptian objects, thousands of years old, have been laid out on the tables, next to 21st -century scientific equipment, and interspersed with other items from the collections, as different as Japanese export porcelain and European Renaissace and Baroque paintings. Importantly, the gallery redevelopment has been tremendously rewarding to the conservators themselves. Head of Conservation, Mark Norman says, What has made the project especially challenging has been the requirement to develop six new galleries simultaneously, in the space of just a year, and to complete everything in time for installation. With the volume of objects, and the breadth of materials from which they are made, the conservation work has been a remarkable team effort and, for many of us, a pinnacle career experience. 14

15 ANCIENT EGYPT MODERN SCIENCE CONTEMPORARY ART unwrapped: the story of a child mummy Temporary display 26 Nov Mar 2012 Gallery 14 Free Admission To coincide with the opening of the new galleries, the Museum will host an installation of work by artist Angela Palmer, inspired by the collections. Unwrapped: The Story of a Child Mummy will be shown in the Cast Gallery, with 20 works of art offering visitors a unique and intimate glimpse beneath the wrappings of an Egyptian child mummy. The exhibition is the culmination of Palmer s extraordinary four-year journey to discover the story of the boy who died between AD80 120, almost 2,000 years ago when the Romans ruled Egypt. In 2006, following conversations between the artist, the Ashmolean, and a team of radiologists, the mummy was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for a CT-scan. The results revealed the body to be that of a boy aged about 2 years old, who most likely died of pneumonia. Palmer has developed a highly unusual technique to create 3-D representations of the mummy. By drawing details from the scans onto multiple sheets of glass, she has recreated the internal architecture of the human form. One of the sculptures of the mummy child will go on permanent display alongside the mummified body and films of the scanning in the new EGYPT MEETS GREECE AND ROME gallery. A glass sculpture showing the child from three angles will form part of the display, along with plaster replicas of the boy s skull and toes. Following a copy of a map drawn by archaeologist W M Flinders Petrie, who excavated the mummy in 1888, Palmer visited the burial site near Hawara village. There she filled her water bottle with sand which she brought back to Britain to reunite the child in a tangible way with his homeland. The sand will be shown with a film and photographs she took of the children who now live in the village the descendants of the community which the boy knew during his short life. 15

16 BENEFACTORS We are grateful to the following, without whose support the new galleries would not have been possible. Lead Supporter: The Linbury Trust The Linbury Trust is a charitable trust; it was established by Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover KG (John Sainsbury), and his wife Anya, Lady Sainsbury, CBE, the former ballerina Anya Linden. The Linbury Trust was founded in 1973, since when it has made grants totalling more than 125 million. Mr Christian Levett Christian Levett is a British-born investment manager who has had a passion for history, art and collecting since childhood, when he began collecting coins and medals. Roman marbles and ancient militaria form the keystone of his collection, alongside Greek and Egyptian antiquities, neoclassical, modern and contemporary art. The quality and variety of Mr Levett s collection led, in 2008, to his exploring the idea of establishing a museum at Mougins in the South of France. This came to fruition in June 2011, when the Mougins Museum of Classical Art opened its doors to the public, enabling Mr Levett to share his passion with others and afford the academic community the opportunity to study this historically important collection. Mr Levett is the owner of the archaeology magazine Minerva. The Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation The Elias Ashmole Trust Friends of the Ashmolean The Friends of the Ashmolean play an active and important role in the Museum. Members are entitled to free entry to exhibitions and a wide variety of activities are organised throughout the year. Since the foundation of the Friends in 1969 they have donated over 1 million to the Museum. Visit: /support/friends Mr and Mrs Jack Josephson The Marjorie M Fisher Fund The Selz Foundation 16

17 SUPPORTERS The Egyptian Cultural Centre and Educational Bureau in London Established in 1907 by Saad Zakloul Pash, Minister of Public Knowledge, the Bureau s role is to promote Egyptian civilization both ancient and modern, religious principles, and the teaching of the Arabic language. The Bureau was based in Victoria, London, until 1943, when it moved to its current premises at 4 Chesterfield Gardens. The building is currently undergoing a restoration project which will be completed in October When it reopens, the Centre will have new exhibition halls, a library and learning centre, and a cinema. With support from the Museums Association s Effective Collections Fund, the Centre will hold a series of displays featuring artefacts from UCL s Petrie Museum. Curated by Egyptian people living in London and Egypt, this will be an unprecedented and unique collaboration between the cultural branch of the Egyptian government, a local community group and a university museum. The Egyptian State Tourist Office The stunning, colossal monuments of Ancient Egypt never fail to astonish. The heat, sight and the light of the desert invigorate. The cool, turquoise waters rejuvenate. A romantic cruise along the world s longest river dazzles the senses. A first class getaway resort in the Red Sea Riviera is pure escapism. No place has the magic, mystery and pleasures of Egypt. Travel to Egypt to discover a world of wonder. For more information visit: First Great Western The press launch for the new galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia has been supported by our travel partners First Great Western. For more information visit 17

18 ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTION Richard Bryant/ arcaid.co.uk Rick Mather Architects Shortlisted by the RIBA for the 2010 Stirling Prize for the transformation of the Ashmolean Museum, Rick Mather Architects are also working in Oxford on a new quad for Keble College and have just won the competition for a new building in the centre of Worcester College. Also recently completed are the award-winning new auditorium for Corpus Christi College in Oxford and the new student residences and renewed art school at Stowe. The RIBA has just announced that Rick Mather Architects $150 million expansion and sculpture garden for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is shortlisted for the 2011 international Lubetkin Prize. Beard Beard is an award-winning construction company with a reputation for excellence throughout the South of England. Specialists in conservation and improvement works for historic and listed buildings, the company carries out ongoing projects for many of Oxford s Colleges as well as the University of Oxford and clients further afield. Beard has also worked at Oxford s Natural History Museum to refurbish a 150 year old glass roof over the main galleries; a challenging 6.5 million project to excavate beneath the Queen s College to create new kitchens and dining facilities; the construction of the new 8.5 million neo-classical style Pipe Partridge building at Lady Margaret Hall. The team has just completed works to restore stonework at the University Examination Schools and an important programme of restoration is now starting at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. For further information visit: Contractors and Specialists Structural Engineer Services Engineer Lighting Exhibition Design Interpretation Display Cases Interiors design Price & Myers Hoare Lea DHA Design Rick Mather Architects with the Ashmolean Design Department Ashmolean Museum Meyvaert Glass Engineering Rick Mather Architects 18

19 BIOGRAPHIES Dr Christopher Brown CBE Director, Ashmolean Museum Christopher Brown graduated from St.Catherine s College, Oxford, with a BA (Hons) in Modern History, achieving a diploma with distinction in the History of Art. He obtained his doctorate from the Courtauld Institute of Art London in Appointed Assistant Keeper at the National Gallery, London in 1971, Dr Brown took responsibility for 17 th century Dutch and Flemish paintings. Remaining with the gallery, he was named Deputy Keeper in 1979 and Chief Curator in He has been Director of the Ashmolean Museum since June In June 2002 he was appointed a Commander in the Order of Oranje, Nassau for his services to the study of Dutch art. He has lectured and written extensively on 17 th century Dutch and Flemish art and is the author of titles including: Bruegel (1975); Rembrandt: The Complete Paintings (1980); Carel Fabritius - Complete Edition with a Catalogue Raisonne (1981); Van Dyck (1982); Anthony Van Dyck: Drawings (1991), Rubens s Landscapes (1996); Anthony van Dyck (1999). He was awarded a CBE for services to museums in January Henry Kim Project Director, Ashmolean Museum Henry Kim was the Project Director for the Ashmolean Redevelopment Project, completed in November 2009 and is currently directing the redevelopment of the Egypt Galleries, due for completion in November Educated at Harvard and Oxford, he has been a curator at the Ashmolean Museum and lecturer in Greek numismatics at the University of Oxford since He is a specialist on archaic and classical Greek coins and European medals. 19

20 Rick Mather Principal, Rick Mather Architects Rick founded Rick Mather Architects in 1973 and sets the design direction of the practice as a whole as well as designing and reviewing all projects on a regular basis. A native of Oregon, Rick came to the UK to study urban design at the Architectural Association. His work has since been published and exhibited around the world including the acclaimed South Bank Masterplan. He has served on councils of the RIBA and the Architectural Association and is a former Trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He was awarded the Ellis F Lawrence Medal, the highest award for an alumnus of the University of Oregon. Liam McNamara Assistant Keeper, Ancient Egypt & Sudan, Ashmolean Liam McNamara graduated with a BA and MSt in Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies from St John s College, University of Oxford. He also studied at the University of Hamburg, and was a Laycock Scholar in Egyptology at Worcester College, Oxford, in Prior to his appointment at the Ashmolean in August 2010, he was a Project Curator at the British Museum. He is now the Lead Curator for the redevelopment of the Egypt and Nubia galleries at the Ashmolean. Mr McNamara is a specialist in the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods of ancient Egyptian civilisation (about BC). He has worked as an archaeological illustrator and field archaeologist on excavations at Kom Firin in the western Nile Delta, and at Hierakonpolis in southern Egypt, the site of ancient Egypt s first capital city around 3500 BC. He is currently preparing a publication of the Ashmolean s holdings from the Hierakonpolis Main Deposit, which includes such masterpieces of early Egyptian art as the Two-Dog Palette and the limestone statue of King Khasekhem, now in Oxford. 20

21 Mark Norman Head of Conservation, Ashmolean Museum Trained at the Institute of Archaeology, now part of University College, London Mark Norman first worked in Birmingham before moving to Bristol Museum where he was involved in archaeological fieldwork and a major redisplay of their extensive Egyptian collections. In 1985, he came to the Ashmolean as Chief Conservator in the Department of Antiquities where his focus shifted to the conservation of collections from the Ancient World, building on fieldwork experience gained in Iran and Greece. In 1999 he was appointed Head of Conservation, the first such post in the Ashmolean s long history, and currently leads a team of 13 conservators. His research interests centre on the history of conservation and its development as a discipline, the effects of historic conservation techniques on museum collections and preventive conservation. He has been involved in all of the Ashmolean s capital projects over the past 25 years, culminating in the Ashmolean development and the redisplay of the Egypt and Nubia Galleries. Throughout both of these major projects he and his team of 12 conservators have worked closely with architects, curatorial colleagues, and showcase and 3-D designers at every stage and level resolving issues relating to the investigation, conservation, display and storage of the collections. Dr Susan Walker Keeper of Antiquities, Ashmolean Museum Dr Susan Walker graduated in the Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, as one of the first undergraduates admitted to the Institute of Archaeology, now part of University College London. She received her doctorate in the architecture of Roman Greece from the same institution. She served as Assistant, later Deputy Keeper of the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum from 1977 to 2004, curating and co-curating 11 permanent galleries and three special exhibitions. In 2004 she was appointed Keeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum. Dr Walker has been much engaged with the design elements of the Ashmolean redevelopment, and maintains an active interest in the archaeology of Greece. She has written and edited many books, most recently on Cleopatra VII the last of the Macedonian Greek rulers of Egypt. 21

22 ANCIENT EGYPT AND AT THE ASHMOLEAN Exhibition Guide 5 A beautifully illustrated 48 page guide to the new galleries is available to buy at the Museum Shop or online at /shop ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM The Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, was founded in It is Britain s oldest public museum and possibly the oldest museum in the world. In 2009 it reopened following a 10-month period of closure and a 61 million redevelopment. The new Ashmolean building, designed by award-winning architect Rick Mather, has received critical acclaim and numerous awards. It houses 39 new galleries, including the new special exhibition galleries, a dedicated Education Centre, state-of-the-art conservation studios, and Oxford s first roof-top restaurant. Although completely invisible behind Charles Cockerell s neo-classical façade, the Rick Mather building has provided the Museum with 100% more display space and the facilities to launch a major exhibitions programme. The Ashmolean received more than 1.2 million visitors in the first year since it reopened and now receives the highest visitor numbers of any free museum or gallery outside of London. Admission to the Museum is free. 22

23 CONTACT DETAILS Susie Gault Press & Publicity Manager +44 (0) Claire Parris Ashmolean Press Office +44 (0) Erica Bolton Bolton and Quinn +44 (0) Ashmolean Museum University of Oxford Beaumont Street Oxford OX1 2PH Switchboard: +44 (0) Open: Closed: Admission: Tues Sun & Bank Holiday Mondays 10am 6pm Mondays; 24, 25 & 26 December Free 23