| Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt Coming to North America
By STAN PARCHIN
January 1, 2010
| | Egyptian, Ptolemaic period (305-30 B.C.). Statue of a Queen. Black granite. H. 220 cm (86.6 in.). © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation. Photograph by Christoph Gerigk. | 
| | Diver with Ptolemaic Sculpture. © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation. Photograph by Christoph Gerigk. | 
| | Egyptian, Ptolemaic (3rd Century B.C.). Statue of a Queen. Black granite. 150 x 55 x 28 cm (59.1 x 21.7 x 11 in.). © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation. Photograph by Christoph Gerigk. |
Making its majestic debut at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt (June 5, 2010-January 2, 2011). Touring five North American cities, the exhibition presents more than 250 artifacts that describe archaeologists' recent attempts at locating the elusive tomb of the enigmatic Cleopatra VII (69-30 B.C.), Ptolemaic Egypt's legendary last queen, and Roman general Mark Antony (83-30 B.C.), antiquity's most famous pair of ill-fated and clandestine lovers.
Dennis Wint, President and CEO of the Franklin Institute, said, "We look forward to welcoming this magnificent queen to our halls, and to be the first in the world to share with visitors new discoveries from her life, which are being achieved with the help of advancing science and technology."
Artifacts from Cleopatra's Egypt on Display
Egypt's last great pharaoh, Cleopatra captivated the hearts of Rome's Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.) and fellow statesman Mark Antony while she attempted to restore her dominion to the yesteryear of its imperial grandeur. The queen's rule was unfortunately marked by political intrigue. After Cleopatra's demise, later Roman rulers sought to obliterate her existence from the historical record.
The show's more than 250 objects, including gold coinage and stone sculptures (some 15 feet in height), evoke the ambience of Cleopatra's court and everyday life during her reign. Many of the works come from the above-ground excavations at Taposiris Magna of Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Others are from the Mediterranean Sea explorations of Franck Goddio's European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM), founded in 1987. The ambitious French excavator and his expert team of divers, sponsored by the Hilti Foundation, have successfully searched for remnants of Cleopatra's grand palace in the Bay of Aboukir near Alexandria since 1992. Some of their never-before-seen finds, accompanied by breathtaking film footage and still photography of the artifacts' retrieval, are on view in the captivating installation co-organized by National Geographic and Arts and Exhibitions International.
Dr. Hawass stated, "Queen Cleopatra has captured the hearts of people all over the world. In 2005, we began to search for the tomb where she was buried with her lover, Mark Antony, which we believe was in an ancient temple near Alexandria. This exhibition, which includes objects found in our current excavations, will give the American people the chance to learn about our search for Cleopatra, and will share with them the magic of this fascinating queen.”
In addition to the prestigious Franklin Institute, four other North American venues for "Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt" are soon to be announced.
Sources
Goddio, Franck. Egypt's Sunken Treasures (2nd rev. ed.) (exh. cat.). New York: Prestel Publishing USA, 2008.
Walker, Susan and Peter Higgs (eds.), et al. Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth (exh. cat.). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001.
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