Two major exhibitions currently provide a refreshing focus on the makers – rather than the celebrity inhabitants – of Pharaonic Egypt. ‘Making Egypt’ at the Young V&A (until 2nd November) and ‘Made in Ancient Egypt’ (3rd October – 12 April … Continue reading →
Two major exhibitions currently provide a refreshing focus on the makers – rather than the celebrity inhabitants – of Pharaonic Egypt. ‘Making Egypt’ at the Young V&A (until 2nd November) and ‘Made in Ancient Egypt’ (3rd October – 12 April 2026). I’ve been lucky enough to see both shows, which equally offer first-class exhibition-making inspiration and intersect significantly with my own research interests.
‘Making Egypt’ showcases the rather little-known Egyptian and Egyptianising collections of the V&A, and benefited from the collections knowledge and thematic passion of outgoing curator Benjamin Hinson. This was obviously a very effective collaboration between curatorial and learning & engagement teams, and I benefited greatly from seeing the show my a superb L&E colleague of my own, Vicky Grant.
I particularly enjoyed the deft way that the very act of storytelling is woven throughout the gallery – with the gods Ptah, Thoth and Atum as guides (nice not to rely on more familiar names too!). Recreations of the Nilotic environment here are nifty rather than naff – and mix lots of hands-on ways of engaging with topics covered. The displays here are strong too on contemporary inspiration and response to the bold and distinctive imprint of Pharaonic visual culture. A space that was as engaging for 10-year-olds as for adults.
The Fitzwilliam’s ‘Made in Ancient Egypt’ is more consciously for a grown-up audience and features some eye-popping international loans of the sort to make me professionally green with envy. Gasps were to be heard from visiting Egyptologists at the preview event – always a marker of success in my book. Major plaudits to curator Helen Strudwick, along with Neal Spencer and Thomas Clarke.
Most exciting of all, these were not simply items gathered on the page for an academic discourse but a meaningful and very engaging demonstration of the importance – ritual, religious, practical, pride-inducing (categories that no doubt overlapped) – of making in Pharaonic times. Especially powerful is that this theme of crafting has been shown by Fitzwilliam staff to have real applications in engaging audiences outside the museum.
Making faience is a particularly fascinating (and essentially almost lost) skill, and several luminous blue items appear – two stelae (actually found together and of which even Egyptologists may not be aware). My favourite is that of Rekhamun, a ‘faience-maker of Amun’, is especially scintillating and betrays what is surely the genuine pride of the craftsman himself or his ability to commission colleagues. Both exhibitions included demonstrations of how you making this dazzling substance (a common question from visitors). It was great to see the work of an old friend, the Syrian-born artist Zahed Tajeddin, featured in the V&A show.
The recent identification of a maker’s signature on an impressive sandstone shrine in the Fitz’s collection more likely seems to be a votive graffito of a later pilgrim drawn to the monument than someone actively involved in the construction or decoration – but this find supplied a convenient aphorism for the obligatory speech-giver.
Naturally, exhibitions are created by large teams and, as I have suggested previously, all of us – from directors to shop purchasers are responsible for how ‘Ancient Egypt’ is created, marketed and recreated in museums. But both shows also sparkle with the knowledge of specialist curators who have the insights, connections and ambitions to pull off really interesting displays. Co-curation is fantastic, and there are many different voices featured in both shows, but I was delighted to see and feel the core vision of fellow professional enthusiasts at work.
