Penn Museum of Art will temporarily close two of its most respected galleries this fall to make way for dramatic changes.
The Ancient Egyptian and Nubia Gallery will close on Nov. 6 as the museum overhauls its 14,000 square feet of exhibition space, which houses a collection of 50,000 Egyptian and Nubia artifacts dating back to 4000 B.C. Begins a five-year renovation project.This collection is one of the largest of its kind in the United States.
This renovation will be the largest in the museum’s 136-year history. Once completed, the gallery will be decorated with pieces of ancient Egyptian architecture and will include new laboratories and artifact storage facilities.
The project will be completed in two phases. The first will upgrade main-level galleries focused on life and the afterlife in ancient Egypt, including Kaipya’s 4,300-year-old limestone tomb chapel, which will be on display in its completed state for the first time in 30 years. Masu. The first phase he plans to complete by the end of 2026.
The second phase will transform the upper level galleries and focus on gods, kings, and pharaohs. This section includes a 30-foot-tall column from the 3,000-year-old palace of Pharaoh Merenptah, which was excavated from Egypt by archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania more than a century ago. They have never been shown.
Images of the second floor gallery can be seen below.
While the new gallery is under construction, the Penn Museum will continue to display much of its Egyptian and Nubian collection in the exhibition. Ancient Egypt: From discovery to exhibition.
The museum’s Egyptian Gallery opened to the public in 1926. The last day he can visit the gallery before renovations begin is November 5th.