'Eternal Egypt' open at Memphis Pyramid

MEMPHIS -- "Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from The British Museum" is now open at The Pyramid.

The show is a collection of 144 Egyptian antiquities spanning 35 centuries. It was organized by The British Museum outside Cairo, holder of the most expansive collection of Egyptian artifacts in the world.

The exhibition includes objects made of papyrus, stone, wood, terra cotta, ivory, gold and glass.

The pieces include a 4,500-year-old statuette of a royal princess and a plaque showing Amenemhat, the last Pharaoh of the 12th dynasty, offering a jar of ointment to the god Atum. Others include a coffin covered with religious images and hieroglyphic texts intended to give magical assistance to the soul of the dead passing into the afterlife and a statue of Ramesses II.

For the exhibit, the lower floor of The Pyramid has been designed like a multi-galleried Egyptian burial chamber. Similar pieces are exhibited together in order to demonstrate 3,000 years of change. Visitors will be conducted on an audio tour specifically tailored to the Memphis exhibition.

The exhibit is presented by Wonders, the Memphis international cultural series. Since its founding in 1989, Wonders has produced seven exhibitions, including "Catherine the Great," "Splendors of the Ottoman Sultans," "The Etruscans," "Napoleon," "Imperial Tombs of China," "Titanic: The Exhibition" and "Ancestors of the Incas."

"Eternal Egypt" continues through Oct. 21. Tickets are $14 for adults, $13 for seniors, $20 for college students and military personnel and $6 for youths -5-17.

The exhibition opens at 9 a.m. daily and admits the last visitor at 8 p.m. The tour usually lasts 1 1/2 hours.

All tickets are sold for a specific date and time. They can be purchased at (901) 743-ARTS or at the Web site, <A HREF="http://www.eternalegypt.org"> www.eternalegypt.org