Pharaoh Superstars

Fred Wilson, Grey Area, 1993. Plâtre, peinture, bois, 75 x 116 x 34 cm. Tate : acquis avec le concours d'American Patrons of Tate, avec l'aimable autorisation de Pamela Joyner and Reginald Van Lee (2011) © Fred Wilson Studio
L’ancienne reine divinisée Ahmès Néfertari, Deir el-Médina, Égypte, 13e siècle av. J.-C. Bois de karité peint. Musée du Louvre, Paris © Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Christian Decamps
Statuette funéraire d’Akhénaton brisée, Égypte, vers 1349-1333 av. J.-C. Calcaire, 12,7 x 8,1 x 6,3 cm. Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienne, Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection. © KHM-Museumsverband

Cheops, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ramesses and Cleopatra are names that are familiar to us, thousands of years after the death of the rulers who bore them. But who today remembers Teti, Sesostris or Nectanebo? The exhibition “Pharaoh Superstars” tells how some kings and queens of Ancient Egypt have become international icons today, while others, who had their moment of glory in ancient times, have almost completely forgotten.
Part history, part legend, this 5,000-year journey takes the visitor on a discovery of the exploits and especially the posthumous fame of these exotic characters who are the pharaohs. They can serve as a parable to illustrate the nature and paths of fame, reminding us that notoriety is ephemeral, fickle and not always based on historical merit.
From Egyptian hieroglyphics to pop music and medieval illuminations to classical painting, the originality of this exhibition rests on how it brings together such a wide variety of artworks, historical documents, and contemporary consumer objects. All of them bear witness to the popularity of the pharaohs, their names and images, and often tell us more about our contemporary societies, imagination and aspirations.
The exhibition presents nearly 300 pieces from the collections of the Mucem and the largest French and European collections, including the Musée du Louvre (Paris), the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Paris), the Musée d’Archéologie méditerranéenne (Marseille), the British Museum (London), the Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire (Brussels), the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna), the Museo Egizio (Turin), the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum (Lisbon), the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford), the Musée d’Orsay (Paris), and the Bibliothèques de la Ville de Marseille.
After the Mucem in Marseille, it will be presented at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon (from 24 November 2022 to 6 March 2023). 
This exhibition, initially planned at the Mucem for the summer of 2020, had to be postponed due to the health situation.

—Curation: Frédéric Mougenot, chief curator, custodian for heritage, Antiquities and Ceramics Collection, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille et Guillemette Andreu-Lanoë, associate curator, honorary director of the department of Antiquities of the Musée du Louvre
—Scenography : Emilie Delanne et Amélie Lauret, Graepheme Scénographie
—Partenaires : Roc-Eclerc Funecap, Ametis Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur
Exhibition devised and produced by the Mucem in a co-production with la Fondation Gulbenkian de Lisbonne

Interview with Frédéric Mougenot et Guillemette Andreu-Lanoë, exhibition curators

Cheops, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ramesses and Cleopatra are names that are familiar to us, thousands of years after the death of the rulers who bore them. But who today remembers Teti, Sesostris or Nectanebo? The exhibition “Pharaoh Superstars” tells how some kings and queens of Ancient Egypt have become international icons today, while others, who had their moment of glory in ancient times, have almost completely forgotten.
Part history, part legend, this 5,000-year journey takes the visitor on a discovery of the exploits and especially the posthumous fame of these exotic characters who are the pharaohs. They can serve as a parable to illustrate the nature and paths of fame, reminding us that notoriety is ephemeral, fickle and not always based on historical merit.
From Egyptian hieroglyphics to pop music and medieval illuminations to classical painting, the originality of this exhibition rests on how it brings together such a wide variety of artworks, historical documents, and contemporary consumer objects. All of them bear witness to the popularity of the pharaohs, their names and images, and often tell us more about our contemporary societies, imagination and aspirations.
The exhibition presents nearly 300 pieces from the collections of the Mucem and the largest French and European collections, including the Musée du Louvre (Paris), the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Paris), the Musée d’Archéologie méditerranéenne (Marseille), the British Museum (London), the Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire (Brussels), the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna), the Museo Egizio (Turin), the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum (Lisbon), the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford), the Musée d’Orsay (Paris), and the Bibliothèques de la Ville de Marseille.
After the Mucem in Marseille, it will be presented at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon (from 24 November 2022 to 6 March 2023). 
This exhibition, initially planned at the Mucem for the summer of 2020, had to be postponed due to the health situation.

—Curation: Frédéric Mougenot, chief curator, custodian for heritage, Antiquities and Ceramics Collection, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille et Guillemette Andreu-Lanoë, associate curator, honorary director of the department of Antiquities of the Musée du Louvre
—Scenography : Emilie Delanne et Amélie Lauret, Graepheme Scénographie
—Partenaires : Roc-Eclerc Funecap, Ametis Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur
Exhibition devised and produced by the Mucem in a co-production with la Fondation Gulbenkian de Lisbonne

Fred Wilson, Grey Area, 1993. Plâtre, peinture, bois, 75 x 116 x 34 cm. Tate : acquis avec le concours d'American Patrons of Tate, avec l'aimable autorisation de Pamela Joyner and Reginald Van Lee (2011) © Fred Wilson Studio

Interview with Frédéric Mougenot et Guillemette Andreu-Lanoë, exhibition curators

L’ancienne reine divinisée Ahmès Néfertari, Deir el-Médina, Égypte, 13e siècle av. J.-C. Bois de karité peint. Musée du Louvre, Paris © Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Christian Decamps
Statuette funéraire d’Akhénaton brisée, Égypte, vers 1349-1333 av. J.-C. Calcaire, 12,7 x 8,1 x 6,3 cm. Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienne, Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection. © KHM-Museumsverband