Eternal Egypt Exhibition

Advance Fact Sheet

For Immediate Release            
December 16, 2000
Contacts: Adrian Lilly, Chris Peiffer
(419) 255-8000 ext. 7301, 7408


EXHIBITION
Eternal Egypt:
Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum

VENUE
The Toledo Museum of Art

DATES
March 2 - May 27, 2001

ORGANIZERS
Eternal Egypt is organized by the American Federation of Arts and 
The British Museum.

SPONSOR
This exhibition, its presentation in Toledo, and its national tour are made
possible by Ford Motor Company.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
Additional support has been provided by the Benefactor Circle of the AFA. 
The Ohio Arts Council helped fund the Toledo showing of this exhibition
with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, 
and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

DESCRIPTION

ADD ONE EGYPT
Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum opens
March 2, 2001, at the Toledo Museum of Art.  The British Museum has the 
largest and most comprehensive collection of ancient Egyptian material outside 
of Cairo.  The Toledo Museum of Art is the first to host this unusually inclusive
exhibition, which will make only seven other stops on the US tour. The exhibition 
is an astounding selection of 144 objects-over half of which have never been 
seen  outside London.  The array of antiquities include a tiny royal portrait carved
in ivory,  a colossal granite statue of the seated Pharaoh Sety II, and elegant 
wood sculptures of men and women. Unprecedented loans of wood, ivory,
and papyrus works, which rarely survive the centuries in good condition, are 
evidence of the quality of this exhibition.

Spanning 3,500 years of history, Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art 
from the British Museum represents all four periods of ancient Egyptian history: 
Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, and Late Period.  During the
 unification of Egypt and its first cultural flowering during the age of the pyramids, 
two enduring artistic conventions developed: the dual role of the king as patron 
and focus of the arts and the interplay of art and hieroglyphic writing.  Egyptian 
religious beliefs led artists to focus on the human figure, manifesting in 
extraordinary portraits of both royal and private individuals.  Luxurious jewelry
and personal possessions, portraits, and colossal royal statues show the imperial 
wealth of the New Kingdom.  The art of the Late Period reveals the relationships 
of Egyptians to their past and to neighboring kingdoms and sometime conquerors:
Nubians, Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans.

Visitors will be able to experience the size, shape, elegant craftsmanship, and 
complexity of objects that are normally accessible only in photographs or by
visiting London.  The objects will be arranged chronologically to reveal the
major periods of 35 centuries of ancient Egyptian art and help visitors
experience the cultural past of Egypt.

[Slides are currently available to complement information on this exhibition.]

CATALOGUE
The exhibition will be accompanied by a 384-page full-color catalogue 
published by The University of California Press Association with the AFA 
and written by Edna R. Russmann, curator of Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient 
Middle Eastern Art at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.  Included will be an essay 
on the history of the collection of Egyptian antiquities at The British Museum
by T.G.H. James.

The catalogue will be available in the Museum Store for $40 in a soft-bound 
edition. Catalogue delivery includes an additional shipping and handling fee.

ITINERARY
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, March 2 - May 27, 2001
Wonders, Memphis, Tennessee, June 28-October 21, 2001
Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, New York, November 23-February 24, 2002
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, April 12-July 7, 2002
The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor,
August 10-November 3, 2002
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 22-March 16, 2003
The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, April 26-August 10, 2003
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, September 21-January 4, 2004

EXHIBITION HOURS
Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; 
Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday 11-5 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays.

EXHIBITION ADMISSION
Admission to the Museum is free.  There is an admission charge for 
Eternal Egypt, and timed tickets are required.  Advance purchase is
recommended.


EXHIBITION TICKETS

ADD TWO EGYPT
Timed tickets for Eternal Egypt are now available at the Museum's Ticket 
Office or by calling (419) 243-7000 or toll free at 1-888-763-7486.  
There is a $2.50 per-order handling fee for all telephone or mail orders. 
The ticket prices are:

          Adult:  $10
          Seniors (65 +):  $7.50
          Students/Children (6-17):  $7.50
          Full-time university students with ID: $7.50
          Children 5 and under are admitted free

Members of the Toledo Museum of Art receive free one-time admission 
to the exhibition with timed tickets.  For more information about the
availability of timed tickets or to reserve your tickets now, 
call 419-243-7000.  To become a Member to take advantage of the
benefits to this exhibition and other exciting Centennial events, call 419-243-7000.

GROUP TICKETS & TOURS
To order group tickets:

Non-docent guided adult groups              $7.50 /person  call: (419) 254-5776
Non-docent guided student groups          $5/person (419) 254-5776
Docent-guided adult groups                     $14/person  call  (419) 255-8000 ext. 7290
Docent guided student groups                  $5/person  call (419) 255-8000 ext 7290

Docent-guided tour times:
Tuesday-Friday     9:30-10:30 a.m.
Saturday                10-10:30 a.m.
Sunday                   11-11:30 a.m.

Groups of 15-20 will be scheduled to enter the exhibition every 15 minutes.

Audio guide: A recorded audio tour is available for $5.  The audio tour may be 
reserved by phone when tickets are purchased or purchased at the entrance.  
There is no Member discount for this item.

An enlarged type transcript of the tour, free to hearing-impaired visitors, is available 
on request at the exhibition entrance.


PROGRAMS
Speakers, workshops and other programs will complement the exhibition.  A complete 
schedule of events will be released prior to the exhibition opening.


CONTACTING THE MUSEUM
Information and tours                    (419) 255-8000 or (800) 644-6862
Tickets                                           (419) 243-7000 or (888) 763-7486
Fax                                                 (419) 255-5638
E-mail                                          information@toledomuseum.org



~~
The Toledo Museum of Art is a privately endowed, nonprofit arts institution.  Thanks 
to the generosity of Edward Drummond Libbey, Florence Scott Libbey, and many 
other donors and Members, admission to the Museum is free.  Regular Museum 
hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; 
Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11-5 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays. 
The Museum is located at 2445 Monroe Street at Scottwood Avenue, just west
 of the downtown business district and one block off I-75 with exit designations 
posted.

Eternal Egypt is one of many activities scheduled for the Toledo Museum of Art's 
Centennial Celebration, a commemoration of 100 years of service to the community.  
The Centennial Society helped make the Toledo presentation of this exhibition and
other Centennial activities possible.

The mission of the Toledo Museum of Art lies in the belief in the power of art to ignite
imagination, stimulate thought, and provide enjoyment.  Through collections and 
programs, the Museum strives to integrate art into the lives of people.

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