The largest exhibition ever organized on the greatest of the pharaohs takes place until September 6, 2023 at the Grande Halle de La Villette, in Paris. “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” aims to attract more than one million visitors and become the exhibition of the 21st century. In an immersive scenography, the public can admire 180 treasures of inestimable value, some of which come out of Egypt for the first time, such as the sarcophagus of the greatest of all pharaohs, Ramses II, exclusively exhibited in France.
Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs, an extraordinary exhibition, will tour around the world and is part of a real cultural offensive by Egypt on several fronts. The Arab country has announced its candidacy for the post of Secretary General of Unesco in 2025, offensively demands the return of the Zodiac of Dendera to the Louvre, the bust of Neferteti to the Neues Museum in Berlin and the Rosetta Stone to the British Museum from London. And then there is the long-awaited opening at the end of 2023 of the Grand Egyptian Museum at the foot of the Giza pyramids. Interview with Egyptologist Bénédicte Lhoyer, scientific advisor to the exhibition “ Ramses and the gold of the pharaohs “.
RFI : Ancient Egypt was convinced that gold provides magical powers. Ramses and the gold of the pharaohswith its statues, sarcophagi, animal mummies, jewelry, is it a magical exhibition ?
Benedicte Lhoyer : For the Egyptian, pronouncing the name brings life! And when you have an absolutely incredible treasure with you, you can go through eternity. This exhibition is incredible, because we managed to bring together objects which, sometimes, had never left Egypt. Objects that tell Ramses II, but also tell his legend. And how Ramses managed to cross the millennia to us never being forgotten. He is one of the only mortals, one of the only kings of this planet, to have achieved this incredible thing.
Among the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected, there will certainly be people for whom this exhibition will be a real revelation. Which Egyptian work moved you so much that made you want to become an Egyptologist? ?
In fact, at the beginning, I started mainly with the ancient Greeks, when I was very young, I was between 6 and 8 years old. Then, the Greeks kept talking about the Egyptians… I realized that there was something older than the Greeks. One of the first objects I could see was through the books I had at the time, it was one of the walls of one of Nefertari’s tombs. To see this magnificent young woman, with her long black hair, with this almost transparent dress, being led by deities with the heads of animals… I remember this kind of shock and say to myself: it’s very strange , and yet, I understand, it’s beautiful, it says things. That’s what made me switch to the side of the Egyptians. And I never got out…
Ramses is the mythical figure of ancient Egypt, famous for his reign of exceptional longevity, 66 years, his ten wives and a hundred children, and the construction of hundreds of palaces and buildings. The iconic statue of the young Ramses embodies the beginning of this incredible pharaonic adventure that the course invites us to live ?
Here you have a fragment of a statue that represents Ramses II. It is an idealized image of the young pharaoh. He looks a bit like his father. But it’s Ramses’s face, a young face, very rounded, eyes that go up slightly on the temples. This nose, it is the most sensitive part of the statues, is unfortunately a little broken, but it was well hooked. It’s a very strong nose. And you have this little mouth, with these full lips that smile very slightly at you. He wears a large wide necklace, the royal diadem adorned with a uraeus, representing the protective goddess Wadjet. This very pleated garment in all directions is also a sign that we find at the time of Ramses II. They like well pleated and very rich things. And he holds a scepter, heqa, in the hand, with the hieroglyph for ruling, the symbol of his royal power. And he has a very nice cuff bracelet with this eye that people usually know very well : the jade eye which means “ nine », « intact », « integrated “.
During the exhibition, archaeological excavations and research on the time of the pharaohs continue. What has changed the most in recent years in relation to the perception of Ramses ?
Ramses is one of the most complicated reigns, because we are always trying to find new things. It is one of the kingdoms that we know best. We have a lot of monuments and a lot of texts. But the search continues. We are still desperately looking for other family members. We are working a lot on one of his sons, the fourth son, Prince Khâemouaset, who was very active on the side of Sakkarah. (…) But all the work still remains to be done. Egyptology is 200 years old, that is, we are still “ pioneers there is still phenomenal work.
This exhibition on Ramses and the gold of the pharaohs tours around the world. How did you design the course to be understood everywhere and by everyone in the same way ?
The main thing would be to say: come and discover the legend. Come and discover how Ramesses entered eternity. Look at everything he produced. Look at what others have produced to try to pay homage to Ramses, to try to surpass him. Of course, they did not really succeed in surpassing it, but they produced absolutely extraordinary treasures which are still present and which are there today in front of us. Treasures that are 4,000 years old, which is absolutely amazing.
The key piece is the famous sarcophagus of the pharaoh. An exceptional loan to thank France for the restoration of the mummy undertaken in 1976. How did you feel when you saw this sarcophagus for the first time ?
That’s wonderful. This coffin is absolutely stunning. It’s cedar from Lebanon, you have all those grooves in the wood that have been left and worked to really bring out the face. It’s an extremely moving object, because you’re with the chest that protected Ramses for 2 800 years. It’s very intimate as such. And then you have a coffin which is even older than Ramses, which protected Ramses, which comes down to us and to see it here, to see the king’s face suddenly reappear, it’s a bit as if Ramses was with us here. In any case, for the Egyptians, it’s completely that: the image arouses the presence. We have the coffin, so Her Majesty is with us.
How do you explain that Ramses and ancient Egypt continue to fascinate people ?
Egypt has always been a landmark, because it is a civilization that speaks to us. And we have an absolutely incredible heritage, whether in the philosophy, the images, the symbols that have come down to us. And it’s true, Egypt, with its eternity, with its 4 000 years of history, remains something, both completely immutable, and at the same time something that has changed a lot. For this, it is a civilization that has this strong impact on each of us.
► Ramses and the gold of the pharaohsuntil September 6 at the Grande Halle de La Villette. In addition, the exhibition also offers an immersive virtual reality experience of two temples of Ramses II.