Exhibition location: The Tisch Galleries
Exhibition dates: March 28-July 9, 2006
Press preview: Monday, March 20, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Hatshepsut, often considered the first important female head of state known to history, ruled Egypt for two decades (ca. 1479-1458 B.C.) during Egypt's 18th Dynasty. Although less familiar to modern audiences than her much later successor, the notorious Cleopatra (51-30 B.C.), Hatshepsut's achievements were comparable to those of England's Elizabeth I. Ruling first as regent for, then as co-ruler with her nephew Thutmose III (who ruled for another 33 years after her death), Hatshepsut enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign, at the beginning of the New Kingdom. She stabilized the country and restored monuments destroyed during the disruptive Second Intermediate Period, when northern Egypt was controlled by a dynasty of Asian princes and southern Egypt by a dynasty of Egyptians based in Thebes. She renewed trade with western Asia to the east, the far-off land of Punt to the south, and the Aegean Islands in the north. The resulting economic prosperity was reflected in the art of the time, which is characterized by remarkable innovations in sculpture and decorative arts and produced such architectural marvels as Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri.
Opening at the Metropolitan Museum on March 28, the landmark traveling exhibition Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh will feature objects from the Metropolitan's own extensive holdings of objects excavated by the Museum's Egyptian Expedition in the 1920s and 1930s, supplemented by loans from other American and European museums, as well as by select loans from Cairo and Luxor. The New York showing of the exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Museum's Department of Egyptian Art.
The exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is made possible by Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman.
The exhibition is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency.
The exhibition at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/de Young was made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
The exhibition catalogue is made possible by The Adelaide Milton de Groot Fund at the Metropolitan Museum, in memory of the de Groot and Hawley families.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Exhibition Overview
Hatshepsut was the principal queen of her half-brother Thutmose II, fourth king of the 18th Dynasty. After his untimely death, she acted as regent for her young step-son/nephew, Thutmose III. Within a few years, she had assumed the position of senior co-ruler, and adopted the title of king. Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh will examine the phenomenon of Hatshepsut as a female pharaoh and the effects of her reign on Egyptian history, culture, and the astonishingly creative artistic output of the time.
The exhibition, which is arranged thematically, will include sculpture that represents Hatshepsut's immediate ancestors and also outstanding members of her court. Particular attention will be given to statuary of the royal steward Senenmut, who oversaw Hatshepsut's estates when she was queen and was tutor to her daughter, Neferure, and served in the administration of the estates of Amun, the most powerful god of the Egyptian pantheon. Of all the members of Hatshepsut's court, Senenmut was the best known and the most often represented. On view will be several striking examples of his innovative statuary – including a rare monumental kneeling statue – that influenced the sculpture of later periods.
The exhibition will above all feature statues of Hatshepsut herself, including images of her as a female ruler, as a masculine king, and as a sphinx. These link the special exhibition to the Museum's permanent collection of Egyptian art, which includes a gallery devoted to statues of Hatshepsut that were excavated by the Museum's Egyptian Expedition in the late 1920s and early 1930s and were allotted to the Museum by the Egyptian government in the division of finds. (The Metropolitan Museum's excavation team was largely responsible for the discovery, excavation, and reconstruction of the statuary that once decorated Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahri in western Thebes, and many works related to Hatshepsut entered the Museum's collection as a result of these excavations.) Numerous objects that belonged to Egyptians from the time of Hatshepsut will be shown. These include elegant stone vessels, jewelry, and furniture.
Catalogue and Related Programs
A fully illustrated catalogue, published by the Metropolitan Museum and distributed by Yale University Press, will be available in the Museum's book shops ($65 hardcover; $45 softcover).
A variety of educational programs will be offered in conjunction with the exhibition, including gallery talks, films, off-site school programs, and a Sunday at the Met afternoon of lectures on May 7, 2006.
A special feature on the exhibition, as well as details of the accompanying programs, will be available on the Museum's website (www.metmuseum.org).
Two Audio Guide programs for the exhibition will be available – one for general visitors and another for families with children. The fee for rentals will be $5 for members of the Museum, $6 for non-members, and $4 for children under 12.
The Audio Guide program is sponsored by Bloomberg.
The exhibition is organized at the Metropolitan by Catharine Roehrig, Curator, Department of Egyptian Art.
The exhibition is on view at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, through February 5, 2006. After its showing at the Metropolitan, it will travel to the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth (August 24 – December 31, 2006).
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January 9, 2006
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