Egypt’s Melting Pot of Religions on Display in British Museum

Exhibit on religion in Egypt accurately displays how many religions all have the same roots.

Many men and women have walked in the lands of Egypt through time, be it Muslims, Christians or Jews. A true melting pot, Egypt saw Christianity come to the forefront following the Roman regime, only to see a majority of the population adapt Islam after, even as Jewish communities lived peacefully alongside them. The British Museum new exhibit Egypt: Faith After The Pharaohs will display artifacts and relics collected over a twelve-century period that captures the influences of these various religions on Egypt, and how it shaped the religious history through the years. The religious Egypt exhibit will focus on the era after the Pharaohs. Preserving the age-old artifacts is no easy task, and Egypt's arid climate only makes it more challenging. The British Museum has utilized ingenious techniques to preserve these precious relics.

The British Museum curation will capture how the religious perspective in Egypt went from being influenced by multiple faiths to a single faith. It also offers a preview of the various closely-knit communities in the society, and how people of different religions co-existed without any conflicts for a long period, but also had times of conflict every once in a while.

Many of the artifacts featured in the museum’s exhibit have never been on display for the public to see. The exhibit predominantly reflects on the dual symbolism of religions back in the day, and how they were inter-connected despite having different roots. One of the curators at the museum, Elisabeth O'Connell, says that observing religions in isolation is no longer a point of interest, and if anything people are curious abut how individuals of different faiths co-existed and interacted with each other. There have also been instances where they have borrowed customs and traditions from each other's faith in the process, which is another point of interest.

New capsule collection for the British Museum in support of the Egypt: Faith after the Pharaohs exhibition29/10- 7/2 http://t.co/bGCTM2o5RO

— Caradiaz (@Caradiaz) October 13, 2015

Spanning a 1200-year history, some highlights of the exhibition include Horus, the Egyptian God, a Gold Ring that features Isis, Harpokrates and Serapis, and Serapis' portrait. Other exhibits that will be displayed at the museum include jewelry, toys, gravestones, paintings and architectural remains. The organizers say that they understand that security is of utmost concern given the nature of the objects being put up on display. They say that they will take a similar approach to the 2007 show Sacred organized by the British Library.

British Museum Exhibit of Religion in Egypt and the Multiple Influences to a Single Faith.[/tweetthis]

Resources

• The Guardian
• British Museum

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