CAIRO: “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” — an exhibition featuring pieces from the collection of the Egyptian Museum — is currently on show at the Australian Museum in Sydney, where it has reportedly sold out all tickets for this month.
Sydney is the fourth stop so far for the traveling exhibition, and has garnered “a high level of interest among Sydneysiders and Australians in general since the first day it opened,” according to Dr. Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, who claimed the exhibition was on track to “break visitor records.”
Fadi Sayed, one of the exhibition’s organizers, told Arab News: “We are very pleased with the sale of all the exhibition tickets.”
The exhibition showcases 182 artifacts, some of which date back to the reign of King Ramses II (1279-1213 BCE), including the king’s sarcophagus as well as discoveries from the Egyptian mission in the Bubastion area in Saqqara.
“In addition, there are items from several Egyptian museums showcasing some distinctive characteristics of ancient Egyptian civilization from the Middle Kingdom to the Late Period, including statues, jewelry, cosmetic tools, paintings, inscribed stone blocks, and some colored wooden coffins,” Sayed added.
The exhibition has attracted nearly 1 million visitors so far since opening in Houston, Texas, in November 2021, according to the organizers. It was also on display in San Francisco and Paris before opening in Sydney in November last year.