All Egypt fanatics to Expedition Egypt exhibition in Brussels
The Museum of Art and History in Brussels turns the spotlight on two centuries of sensational archaeological discoveries in the land of the pharaohs and the creation of its Egyptian collection. The expo Expedition Egypt runs until 1 October 2023.
The Egyptian past was hot in the diplomatic and industrial circles of young Belgium. As a matter of fact, Egypt was at the centre of all international politics and economics in the 19th century. Especially kings, such as Leopold II, and private individuals donated the first objects to what would grow into today's world-class collection, consisting of mummies, hieroglyphics, refined jewellery, statues of gods, etc. Thanks to the enterprising Belgian Egyptologist Jean Capart, Brussels even became the world capital of Egyptology in the first decades of the 20th century. He was behind the steady expansion of the collection with many showpieces and the development of scientific research.
The result is now no less than 12,000 records, some 200 of which have been brought together for the temporary Expedition Egypt. The absolute eye-catchers are the wonderfully illustrated Book of the Dead of dignitary Neferrenpet, the richly decorated sarcophagi from the Deir el-Bahari temple complex, funerary stelae, funerary vases for the entrails of the dead and so-called shabti figurines that accompanied the dead into the afterlife.
Queen Mathilde lends her high patronage to the expo.