Display of approximately 680 ancient artifacts illustrates untold story of exchange
Canaanite amulet of a schematic nude goddess in Egyptian style, Tell el-Ajjul, 15th century BCE, gold. Collection of Israel Antiquities Authority. Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, by Elie Posner
JERUSALEM.- A major exhibition opening at the Israel Museum provides audiences with an unprecedented opportunity to explore the cross-cultural ties between Egypt and Canaan during the second millennium BCE. On view March 4 through October 25, 2016, Pharaoh in Canaan: The Untold Story presents more than 680 objects that reflect the cross-fertilization of ritual practices and aesthetic vocabularies between these two distinct ancient cultures. From large-scale royal victory stelae and anthropoid coffins to scarabs and amulets, the display features an array of archaeological artifacts discovered in Israel and Egypt—including many drawn from the Museum’s own collections, together with major loans from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y.; the Louvre Museum, Paris; the Kunsthistorisches Museum; Vienna; the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy; and numerous other collections.
“This exhibition explores a crucial, yet forgotten chapter in the history of ancient civilizations. Pharaoh in Canaan tells the revelatory story of the cross-cultural dynamics between Canaan and Egypt and the resulting and often astonishing aesthetic, ritual, and cultural affinities that developed between these two distinct peoples,” said James S. Snyder, the Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of the Israel Museum. “It is especially appropriate that the Israel Museum tell this remarkable archaeological story from its setting in Jerusalem and with its rich collections that trace the ancient roots of the region around us.”
Lid of anthropoid sarcophagus, Tel Shadud, 13th century BCE, pottery. Collection of Israel Antiquities Authority. Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, by Elie Posner
The story of Egypt and Canaan is most commonly known from the biblical narratives of Joseph and Moses in Egypt. The exhibition expands this story by examining two crucial periods in history: the settlement and rise of a Canaanite dynasty in the eastern Egyptian Delta during the Middle Bronze Age (circa 1700-1550 BCE); and the extended period of Egyptian rule over Canaan by the Pharaohs during the Late Bronze Age (circa 1500-1150 BCE), both of which led to the commingling of deities, arts, rituals, and technologies between the two cultures.
The exhibition features a variety of Egyptian and Egyptian-inspired objects from Canaanite sites as well as illustrative objects from Egypt, ranging from large-scale architectural reconstructions to small-scale personal effects.
Victory stela of Seti I erected at Beth Shean, 13th century BCE, Basalt. Collection of Israel Antiquities Authority. Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, by Elie Posner
Exhibition highlights include:
· Egyptian Scarabs: Bearing divine and royal names and images, these objects were found in Canaanite tombs, reflecting the adaptation of Egyptian burial customs by the local Canaanite elite.
· Egyptian Private Stelae: Made locally by Egyptians stationed at the Canaanite site of Beth Shean, these stelae depict Egyptians worshipping Canaanite gods, among them the goddess Anat, who was also worshipped in Egypt at that same time, and the god Mekal, a local god of Beth Shean.
· Fragment of a Monumental Sphinx of Mycerinus: The only Old Kingdom royal statue found in the Levantine region, this fragment was likely an official gift either to a local ruler or to the temple at Hazor when it was a site of great power during the Late Bronze Age.
· Tutankhamun Inscribed Solid Gold Ring: The only object excavated in Israel bearing the name of this king, the ring was found in an elaborate tomb in Tell el-`Ajjul together with other Egyptian and Egyptian-style jewelry that reflects the local emulation of Egyptian aesthetic traditions.
· Statue of Ramesses III: Placed in a temple at Beth Shean—one of the most important Egyptian strongholds in Canaan during the time of the empire—this is the only evidence of a locally made royal statue in Canaan—and a stunning example of Egyptian cultic activity in Canaanite temples.
· Royal Stelae: Two stelae of Seti I erected at Beth Shean commemorate victorious military campaigns of the king to suppress local rebellions and reinforce Egyptian control over Canaan.
· Anthropoid Coffins: Locally made Egyptian-style clay coffins, found mainly at Egyptian sites in Canaan, served both Egyptians stationed at these bases as well as Canaanites working in their service.
Furniture inlay featuring a narrative scene, Megiddo, 13th-12th century BCE, ivory, IAA 1938-781. Collection of Israel Antiquities Authority, Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Stele di Ramose, 45 x 30 x 4 cm. Cat. 1601 RCGE 5699. Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino.
Provenance: From Drovetti collection 19th century.
Block from a relief depicting a battle, ca. 1427–1400 B.C., Thebes, el-Asasif. Sandstone, paint. H. 61 cm; w. 115 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund and Edward S.Harkness Gift, 1913, 13.180.21. © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Provenance: Found reused in the foundations of the Temple of Ramesses IV in the Asasif, West Bank, Luxor by Metropolitan Museum excavations 1912-1913.
Given to the Museum excavations 1912-1913.
Given to the Metropolitan Museum in the division of the finds.
Sphinx of Thutmose III, ca. 1479–1425 B.C. Quartzite. l. 34.6 cm; w. 11.4 cm; th. 23.3 cm; weight 4.5 kg. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1908, 08.202.6 © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Provenance: Purchased in Luxor from Mohammed Mohassib in 1908.
Mirror with Hathor Emblem Handle, ca. 1479–1425 B.C., Thebes, Wadi Gabbanat el-Qurud, Wadi D, Tomb of the 3 Foreign Wives of Thutmose III; silver; handle: wood (modern) sheathed in gold. H. 30 cm; W. of disk 14.5 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1926 26.8.97 © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Provenance: Purchased by the Metropolitan Museum in 1919-1920.
Presumed to be from western Thebes from the Wadi -Gabbanat el-Qurud, Wadi D, Tomb 1-the tomb of three foreign wives of Thutmoses III.
Stela of Itubaal and Masutu, ca. 1550–1400 B.C., New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Egypt Medium; Limestone. H. 42.5 cm; w. 26.7 cm; th. 5.6 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, O.C.679 © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Provenance: The stela is known to have been on the art market in Cairo in 1875.
It was in the Metropolitan Museum by 1893.
It was published in the 1898 guide to the Egyptian collections of the Metropolitan Museum.
Statue of King Akhenaton, Provenance unknown. Yellow limestone. H 63.9 cm; W 19.2 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris, N 831 (AF 109). Christophe.Barbotin@louvre.fr © Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Provenance: Purchased in 1826 from the Salt collection.
Statue of Thutmose III. Provenance unknown, 1470 BCE. Grano-Durit. H. 46.5 cm; L. 30.6 cm; Head: 20.3 cm. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, ÄS 70 © Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien.
Provenance: The statue was bought in Egypt by Ernst August Burghart in 1821.
It is already listed in the first inventory book of the collection from 1824.
A view of the exhibition at the Israel Museum. Photo: Olivier Fitoussi;
Israel Museum director James Snyder, poses next to some of the works of the exhibition "Pharaoh in Canaan: The Untold Story" held at the Israel museum in Jerusalem on March 2, 2016. EFE