The Biggest Global Exhibitions Celebrating the Wonders of Egypt

It’s the year 2022, which marks two milestones in modern Egyptology. Not only is it the 200th anniversary of the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone, which unlocked our understanding of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, but it’s also the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. In the run up to the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in November, museums around the world are putting the spotlight on ancient Egypt’s timeless treasures. For anyone wishing to join this celebration of Egyptology, we take a look at some of the biggest exhibitions on ancient Egypt around the world...

United Kingdom:

Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt

The British Museum, London

Oct 13th 2022 - Feb 19th 2023

‘Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt’ is a major exhibition that commemorates the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs 200 years ago. Join exhibition curator Ilona Regulski on a fascinating journey through the trials and tribulations that preceded, the revelations that followed, and the unlocking of this intriguing script that was once a living, spoken language.

United States of America:

Beyond King Tut

Washington D.C, & Boston

June 17th 2022 - February 6th 2023

Immersive exhibitions are an art trend that does not appear to be going away anytime soon.  To commemorate 100 years since the historic discovery of King Tut's tomb, the National Geographic Society is collaborating with Paquin Entertainment Group, the producers of ‘Beyond Van Gogh’ and ‘Beyond Monet’. The exhibition delves deeper into the life of the little boy who rose to power as Pharaoh more than 3,000 years ago, going all the way back to the tomb's opening by British archaeologist Howard Carter and his team.

The African Origin of Civilisation

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

December 2021 - Ongoing

In ‘The African Origin of Civilization’, 21 pieces of ancient Egyptian art from the Predynastic to the end of the Late Period are displayed, with an additional 21 pieces from sub-Saharan Africa from the 16th to the 19th century. The exhibition will also play host to a recurring series of dialogues about family, kinship, and motherhood, while reflecting on Egypt’s cultural effect on Africa, the Mediterranean, and Levantine civilizations.

The exhibition includes a timeline of around 80 significant cultural moments in African history inspired by or existing as a result of Ancient Egyptian culture, art and innovation.

China:

Meet Ancient Egypt, The Golden Mummies Exhibition

Chinese Museum of Chengdu

August 18th - Ongoing

The Museum of Barcelona, Spain, sent 114 pieces of cultural relics from Ancient Egypt, including a gilded mummy sarcophagus, and five sarcophagi of a noble mummy, in addition to many animal mummies and ancient Egyptian statues to the Chinese Museum of Chengdu just for this exhibition.

Italy:

Sekhmet the Powerful: A Lioness in the City (Sekhmet, la Potente: Una Leonessa in Città)

Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna

July 7th 2021 - December 31st 2023

Holding one of the largest collections of Sekhmet figurines and statues outside of Egypt, the Egyptian Museum of Turin has generously loaned an enormous statue of Sekhmet - a manifestation of the Egyptian lion-headed goddess of war - to the Museo Civico Archeologico.

Denmark:

Amarna - City of the Sun God

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen

October 6th 2022 – February 26th 2023

Denmark’s Glyptotek explores the life of ancient Egypt’s most infamous king, Akhenaten, and the city he built for the worship of the sun god, Aten. Considered a notorious monotheist during his time, Akhenaten built the city of Amarna to include temples for the new god, palaces for the royal family, as well as residential areas, workshops, and burial grounds. However, after Akhenaten's mysterious disappearance, his revolutionary religious beliefs were abandoned, and his city, Amarna, was similarly destroyed and abandoned.

France:

Superstar Pharaohs (Pharaons Superstars)

Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseille

June 22nd 2022 - October 17th 2022

Thousands of years after the death of Egypt’s most prominent pharaohs, this exhibition explores the life, lies, myth, and legend surrounding not only those whose names the whole world knows, but also the ones whose names have faded into obscurity.  The visitor learns about the deeds and, in particular, the posthumous notoriety of these exotic figures known as the pharaohs through a combination of history and tradition that spans over 5,000 years.

Spain:

Tutankhamon: Història d'un descobriment (Tutankhamun: the History of a Discovery)

Museu Egipci de Barcelona

January 16th 2022 - December 31st 2022

Since this year marks the centennial of Howard Carter's amazing discovery of Tutankhamon’s tomb, this exhibition is entirely dedicated to his life, death, and legacy.  Germany:  Adventures on the Nile Prussia and Egyptology 1842–45 Neues Museum, Berlin October 15th 2022 - July 3rd 2023 Providing a fresh perspective on the 1842 Prussian expedition that explored Alexandrian shores, the exhibition focuses on a variety of objects and materials brought back from the trip and the impact they had on the development of the then-developing discipline of Egyptology. The exhibition focuses especially on the daily working practises, the methodologies used, and the problems associated with such an endeavour.