MARCH 24, 1995
University of Michigan's Kelsey Museum presents "Preserving
Eternity," an exhibition of artifacts relating to Egyptian
mummification
The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology presents its newest exhibition
Preserving Eternity: Modern Goals, Ancient Intentions. This
exhibition on Egyptian funerary arts, which opens on April 7th, and runs
through August 1995, details the differences and similarities between
preservation methods in Dynastic Egypt and conservation techniques used in
the present day museum. It showcases artifacts from the Kelsey Museum
collection that Visiting Assistant Curators Janet Richards and Terry Wilfong
believe have been underrepresented in previous exhibitions. The evening of
April 7th will also feature the lecture "Funerary Arts in Ancient
Egypt" by Emily Teeter, Assistant Curator of the Oriental Institute of
Chicago. This lecture will be held in Angell Hall, Auditorium C at 7:30 p.m.
Preserving Eternity will present many of the Kelsey's more popular
artifacts from past exhibitions, as well as objects that have never before
been on display. These pieces, all from the Dynastic period of ancient Egypt
(c.a. 3000 - 300 B.C.), include animal mummies (cat, bird, dog, baboon),
burial amulets, canopic jars (used to store the important bodily organs of the
deceased), and the coffin of Djheutymose (ja-HOO-tee-mose).
Djheutymose was a man of the early 6th century B.C., a "priest of
Horus," and "priest of the Golden One." Its appearance
during Preserving Eternity will mark the first time that this
intricately painted coffin has been shown on the U-M Ann Arbor campus.
The exhibition Preserving Eternity will explore previously
unsuspected links between the Djheutymose coffin and other Egyptian
objects in the Kelsey Museum collection.
According to Dr. Janet Richards, the objects to be displayed show "an
intersection of intense concern with preservation -- a concern modern
museums and ancient Egyptians shared." The Egyptians wished to
extend their own lives beyond death, while museums wish to extend the life
of cultural remains. Because this belief in the afterlife permeated the lives
of all Egyptians, the exhibition shows not only the traditional artifacts
excavated from the tombs of the socially elite, but also those from tombs of
the lower classes. Studying the ancient Egyptians' method of preserving the
dead helps to see how this process has developed into what could now be
considered museum preservation. This approach gives rare insight into the
impetus behind the present concern with preserving the past.
Dr. Terry Wilfong believes that many of the items featured in Preserving
Eternity have been overshadowed by the impressive Greek and Roman
collections at the Kelsey: "We started looking through the Kelsey's
collection in storage and found all these amazing Egyptian artifacts."
The vast array of artifacts allowed the curators to choose for this exhibition
not only objects of interest to Egyptologists but objects that would interest
everyone, young and old alike.
Janet Richards received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in
Anthropology and Oriental Studies. She has taught at Mount Holyoke College
and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the History of Art
Department at U-M. Terry Wilfong comes to U-M from the University of
Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and
Civilizations. He is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the U-M Department of
Near Eastern Studies. Preserving Eternity is their first exhibition as
Visiting Assistant Curators at the Kelsey Museum.