In partnership with the Egyptian Museum in Pisa and the University of Pisa, the Centro Studi di Aboca Museum is proud to present:
"Female Beauty in Ancient Egypt"
Sponsored by the Cultural Office of the Municipality of Milan, the opening ceremony of the exhibition will be held on 20 December in Palazzo Reale, and the public will be able to visit from 21 December 2006 to 9 April 2007.
Female Beauty in Ancient Egypt is the main theme of the exhibition but gentleness, sensuality, charm, wisdom, magnificence, grace, strength, allure, harmony, elegance, mystery, power, regality and other qualities of Egyptian women will also feature. These represent an ideal that goes far beyond physical beauty. The strong personality of the ancient Egyptian woman is imposed in her aspects of queen, priestess, wife, lover, mistress of the house and even goddess.
The exhibition demonstrates the intimate and personal aspect of Egyptian women, who, representing a harmonious fusion of body and mind, held positions in the topmost rank of society, reaching levels previously unthinkable for a woman.
This theme is illustrated by rare and precious women's objects lent by important museums. Their splendour merges with the everyday life in the Nile Valley, with its perfumes, oils, essences, creams and ointments that rendered Egyptian women "beautiful" to the eyes of history. Reproduced using the ancient formulas and available to the public throughout the exhibition, they will engage even the most unresponsive visitor with their atmosphere of mystery.
The first section is devoted to the natural world of Ancient Egypt, as well as the tutelary deities of Egyptian women and their beauty.
The second section displays archaeological finds related to perfumes and essences, and illustrates methods of extraction and use at first hand.
The third section focuses on creams and the practices of hair removal and tattooing, and exhibits the natural products customarily used by the Egyptians for skincare.
The fourth section is dedicated to make-up, in particular of the eyes. In addition to the wealth of Egyptian objects, there is a selection of lipsticks, face powders, foundation creams and mirrors which visitors can use to experiment with the techniques used by the women of the Nile.
The fifth section deals with care of the hair, which, to judge by the range of wigs, combs, hairpins, colorants, scented cones, and treatments to prevent falling and greying hair, was of great importance.
The sixth section centres on the Egyptian face and the underlying theme of the exhibition: beauty founded on art and knowledge, beauty that, by going beyond the bounds of time, prompts the writing of poems and love songs.
In the seventh section, visitors have direct contact with the raw materials used by the ancient Egyptians in the preparation of their cosmetics, and will be surrounded by a multitude of enchanting colours and smells.
The eighth section is linked to the world of alchemy and magic: knowledge as the science of the secrets of nature, its mathematical and chemical laws, which had in the mythical Thot Hermes Trismegistos its emblematic master par excellence.
In the ninth section, beauty is idealised through art in funeral masks and sarcophaguses. Embalmment was the most elevated form of body care, one conceived to allow the body to last through eternity in company of the purity and beauty of the soul.
The exhibition is fascinating, richly illustrated and well explained. It enters the intimate world of Egyptian women and explores the secrets that lay at the basis of their extraordinary beauty.
December 2006
THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE EXHIBITION
