By Roy Lie Atjam.
Leiden, 15 November 2018, the Ambassador of Egypt in the Netherlands. H.E. Mr. Amgad Abdel Ghafar organized a diplomatic reception in connection with the opening of the exhibition Gods of Egypt. The National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden served as a backdrop.
The Museum houses a fabulous collection of artefacts from ancient Egypt. According to a report, the Gods of Egypt exhibition includes 500 artefacts collected in cooperation with the Louvre, Allard Pierson and Vienna museum.
The exhibition coincides with the 200th anniversary of the National Museum of Antiquities establishment.
Gods of Egypt is a very impressive exhibition. It proves how enormous the influence of the gods has been on the daily life of the ordinary ancient Egyptians. The following gods were venerated; the god of the heavens, the god of the moon, the stars, the earth and god of the house.
Gods of Egypt is also the fifth high-profile exhibitions in Leiden. The others were that of Petra, Carthage, Queens of the Nile, and Nineve in 2017.
Ambassador Ghafar commenced by welcoming, Madame Barbera Wolfensberger, Director-General of Culture and Media at the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science Dr Win Weijland Director National Museum of Antiquities. Mr Maarten Raven, fellow Ambassadors and friends of Egypt. Prof. Dr Maarten Raven delivered a vivid introduction on Gods of Egypt.
What is more, Ambassador Ghafar referred to the remarks made by the Greek historian Herodotus upon visiting Egypt around 450 B.C. Herodotus exclaimed “nowhere are there so many marvels in the world”. He then added, still talking about the Egyptians “they have existed ever since men existed upon the earth.”
Ambassador Ghafar continued// these Statements by Herodotus, nearly 2500 years ago, reflect clearly he Western fascination with ancient Egypt in all aspects of its history, culture and daily life. Indeed, current and future generation of Egyptians, are immensely grateful to our ancestors, who left us such wealth of wonders that still contributes and enriches human heritage today. However, we could not have appreciated these marvels without the dedication of countless Egyptologists, curators of museums and even amateur archeologists, from different parts of the world. Indeed, we owe them a debt of gratitude for their efforts and zeal.
In this regard, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Wim Wijlend, and Mr. Maarten Raven and their respective teams, for their relentless efforts to ensure the launch of this unique exhibition, and for having hosted around than 18 other exhibitions in this museum since 1995.
Allow me also, to seize this opportunity to pay homage to a distinguished curator and Egyptologist Mr. Maarten Raven, who contributed a great deal to this museum and Egyptology. His achievements were best highlighted in Dr. Eim Weijland’s speech, that left no stone unturned for anyone to elaborate further. I wish you Mr. Raven the very best in all your future endeavors. Ladies and Gentlemen,
Without a doubt history lessons, Modern literature and Cinema have popularized many aspect of life in Ancient Egypt, to the masses. Suffice to mention Ancient Egypt, and it will conjure images of mummies, pyramids, Pharaohs, Queens, tombs, lost treasures, legends of Gods and Goddesses …etc. Yet, many aspects of religion with many Gods and Goddesses in that era, are relatively unknown. The role of mythology in Ancient Egypt is a case and point. Hence, I hope this special exhibition launched today, is of particular significance in providing these insights.
In a universe made out of men and women, Gods and Goddesses, ancient Egyptians have reflected the progressiveness of the society since they set the very first examples in history of emancipation, and progressive rights, especially pertaining to gender equality and strong presence of female deities that possessed powers and were revered as much as their male counterparts in ancient Egypt, not to mention having temples erected in their honors.
Enough to mention Hathour; Goddess of love and motherhood, or Isis who was venerated in the Greek and Roman cultures as well. Not surprisingly therefore, that the Goddess representing Justice is a female deity “Maa’t”, who still have her name and symbol “the feather” depicted on none other than the very entrance of the Peace Palace; International Court of Justice.
Religion played a significant role in Ancient Egypt and influenced nearly every aspect of the life of the Egyptians. Testimony to this are the monuments left relating to afterlife and worship of Gods. Egypt left a wealth of traceable evidence of its religious beliefs evident in monuments designated for the afterworld, as well as statues and temples for its revered Gods and Goddesses.
We are witnesses to the Ancient Egyptian tombs, mortuary temples, mummies, funerary furniture, yet not their palaces! Even great Kings, like Cheops for instance, left nothing but a great tomb; a great pyramid that is considered one of the seven wonders of both ancient and modern world, yet no trace of his palace to be found as one would expect!
I look back with gratitude to my ancestors for having founded such a unique culture and civilization that is celebrated all around the world. In this context, I am also very grateful to the Rijksmuseum for the exerted efforts in continuing to organize such exhibition since their foundation in 1818, in addition to its permanent Egyptian collection.
Before I conclude, I would like to seize this opportunity to reveal to you the good news that partial opening of the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will take place in the first quarter of 2019. Expected to be a great global museum and one of the largest museums in the world, it will be home to 100.000 artifacts from Egypt’s prehistoric times till Greek and Roman periods, making it the largest in the world dedicated to Egyptology.
Hence, it is going to witness for the first time the display of all Tutankhamen’s artifacts gathered in one place which amounts to more than 5000 pieces, in addition to the statue of King Ramsses II. 87 royal statues will adorn its grand staircase as well as large architectural elements, like statues of Kings Khafre, Akhenaton.
As it is rather hard to capture in words what the artifacts of this exhibition could express out loud about the grandeur of the Egyptian civilization, I come to wrap up my speech giving time to be taken away in a more depth journey sailing across the richness of the monuments this exhibition has to offer// end quote.
Ambassador Amgad Abdel Ghafar, thanked the Dutch government, the Leiden National Museum of Antiquities and all who contributed in making this exhibition possible.
The exhibition is expected to run until March 2019.
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Photography by National Museum of Antiquities
