Egyptian Museum Of Turin: Towards The New Gallery Of Kings, Torino, Italy - 22 Apr 2024

Elena Borgi, the Head of the Library and Historical Archive of the Academy of Sciences in Turin, is exhibiting original documents from the Drovetti collection and ''The Monuments of Egypt and Nubia'' by Ippolito Rosellini. The Turin Academy of Sciences is hosting a new exhibition, where they are displaying the original inventory documents of the Museum and the letters exchanged between key figures of Egyptology, such as Bernardino Drovetti, Jean-Francois Champollion, and Carlo Vidua, during the acquisition of the artifacts. The Egyptian Museum of Turin is presenting a new temporary exhibition titled ''Towards the new Gallery of Kings.'' This exhibition is featuring statues of gods and pharaohs in its Gallery of Kings. The Academy of Sciences and the Egyptian Museum are collaborating to offer visitors an experience that traces the origins of the museum, dating back 200 years to when the majestic sculptures of pharaohs and deities arrived in Turin in 1823, along with thousands of other items from the Drovetti collection. These items were housed in the building that still accommodates the two institutions and led to the creation of the first Egyptian Museum in the world in 1824. The installation is recreating the original arrangement of the statues in the courtyards of the temples of ancient Egypt, where divinities and pharaohs maintained a connection with their followers while expressing their authority. Visitors are appreciating details of the finds that were previously difficult to see in the old arrangement, such as the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the throne of the statue of Thutmose I, or details of the headdress of the pharaoh Horemheb. The proximity to the statues is allowing visitors to appreciate them more closely, without diminishing their grandeur.