Berlin, April 20, 2016 PRESS RELEASE Staatliche Museen zu

Berlin, April 20, 2016
PRESS RELEASE
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Generaldirektion, Stauffenbergstr. 41, 10785 Berlin
Antiguo Egipto – vida en el Nilo
20 April to 14 August 2016
Location: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, Santiago de Chile
An exhibition partnership between the Ägyptisches Museum und
Papyrussammlung—Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Centro Cultural
Palacio La Moneda, Santiago de Chile
With the special exhibition Antiguo Egipto – vida en el Nilo, the first ever
exhibition on Ancient Egypt in a Chilean museum will take place at the
Centro Cultural La Moneda in Santiago. Following on from Art from Africa
(2013), it is the second major cooperation project with the Staatliche
Museen zu Berlin, and staff from both institutions have been working
closely together to bring it to fruition.
GENERALDIREKTION
PRESSE – KOMMUNIKATION – SPONSORING
Stauffenbergstraße 41
10785 Berlin
MECHTILD KRONENBERG
HEAD OF PRESS, COMMUNICATION,
SPONSORSHIP
MARKUS FARR
PRESS OFFICER
Tel: +49 30 266 42 3402
Fax: +49 30 266 42 3409
presse@smb.spk-berlin.de
www.smb.museum/en/press
By means of a selection of 345 artefacts drawn from the collections of the
Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung—Staatliche Museen zu
Berlin, the exhibition invites visitors on a journey down the Nile and
through the land of the pharaohs. As the lifeline and lifeblood of Egypt, the
Nile leads the visitors through more than 3000 years of the country’s
history, through the lived realities and faith systems of the ancient
Egyptians, their here-and-now and their hereafter.
Egypt is a land of extremes, and produced a unique civilization. The landscape is shaped by the fertile Nile river, dry deserts and stark mountain
ranges, while the culture is marked by traditions and the spirit of scholarship. For more than 3000 years – from the initial foundation of the state
and the invention of writing around 3000 BCE through to the end of the
period of Roman rule in Egypt around 395 CE – the country maintained its
economic, political and religious stability, the foundation of which was the
belief in tradition and the faith of the people. The Egyptians invented
unique forms of artistic expression, built monumental tombs and temples,
formed an effective structure of administration and business, and developed distinctive religious concepts, especially with regard to life after
death in a world of the hereafter.
The Nile was fundamental for the economic and cultural development of
the country, connecting the different regions of Egypt and providing for a
continual irrigation of crops. At the same time, it splits the country into an
eastern and a western half, which Egyptians interpreted as the homes of
the living and the dead respectively. After sunlight, water was the most
important element for ancient Egyptians. For this reason, they connected
the Nile not just with their visible world, but also with the sphere of the
gods and the afterlife, with the Gods travelling in their barges across the
heavens and through the underworld.
Taking photographs is solely permitted for the current press coverage of the exhibition/event. For any further use of photos you are required to clarify issues of copyright
and usage rights independently in advance. You are responsible for obtaining further
rights (e.g. copyrights for works of art portrayed, personal rights etc.).
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