Gold of the Pharaohs

Golden bangles and rings, jewellery manufactured with semi-precious stones of the former queens as well as decorations of graves offer a brilliant picture of old-egyptian culture. 

In this special exhibition, magnificent examples of Ancient Egyptian jewellery will attempt to illustrate the fascination that has dominated our image of Pharaonic Egypt over the centuries. In Ancient Egypt, gold symbolised the "flesh of the gods". The eternal durability of this precious metal and its bright lustre ensured the special status of gold in the conciousness of the Ancient Egyptians, in their society and religion.

Apart from early dynastic jewellery, the exhibition will focus on those golden bangles and rings that once adorned the queens of the Middle Kingdom. Hairbands, pectorals, bracelets and jewellery made of semi-precious stones will present a sparkling and sumptuous image of Ancient Egyptian culture. In addition, the exhibition includes funerary statues and valuable funerary offerings from Ancient Egyptian tombs.

The world`s most important museums have loaned exhibits: the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Louvre in Paris, the Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin, the Rijksmuseum in Leiden, the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam, and the Roemer- und Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim.

The special exhibition "Gold of the Pharaohs" celebrates the new installation of the galleries of the Egyptian and Oriental Collection that will again be open to the public from November 27, 2001.