More than 120 items from the University’s Egyptian archaeology collection are being exhibited in venues across China throughout 2024.
“Meet Ancient Egypt: Mummy, Life and Death in Ancient Egypt” is made up entirely of items on loan from the University of Aberdeen and was designed by Meet You Museum. Artifacts in the exhibition encompass thousands of years of history and include pottery vessels, stone tablets, jewellery, ‘Book of the Dead’ papyrus, and seven mummies.
Neil Curtis, Head of Museums and Special Collections at the University of Aberdeen, said “the collection of Egyptian archaeology in the care of the University is one the more important ones in the world. We are delighted to be able to display 120 items this year in an exhibition which will be on display in the Meet You Museums in Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Beijing. We also hope to see an exhibition of the Egyptian archaeology collections in 2026 in Aberdeen.”
The exhibition provides an opportunity not only to share the history and importance of the items in the collection on an international scale, but also presents a teaching opportunity for staff members and students involved in Museum Studies programmes at the University.
Professor Alison Brown, Programme Director of the MLitt Museum Studies programme, explained that the loan of the collections allowed staff to talk with students about the behind-the-scenes work involved in coordinating international museum exhibitions and partnerships such as this.
She also noted that, as the Museum Studies cohorts often include students from China, this exhibition “gives prospective students a chance to see examples of the kind of historically important collections they would then have the chance to work with as students here in Aberdeen.”
The exhibition is available to visit at Meet You Museum Shanghai until 3 March 2024 before moving to other cities across China:
- Meet You Museum Hangzhou: 26 March 2024 – 25 June 2024
- Meet You Museum Chengdu: 19 July 2024 – 20 October 2024
- Meet You Museum Beijing: 13 November 2024 – 16 February 2025