An ARCE-New England Online Lecture

An Introduction to the Exhibition

“Jewels of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Treasures from the Worcester Art Museum”

A Lecture by Dr. Peter Lacovara

Registration is required for this online event.
Event site (includes registration info): CLICK HERE
Direct registration link: CLICK HERE

Abstract:
Jewels of the Nile showcases 300 objects, ranging from tiny beads and gems to large sculptures from the Museum’s other Egyptian holdings. Through the singular story of Kingsmill and Laura Marrs and their friendship with British archaeologist Howard Carter, the exhibition also delves into the materials and techniques used in the creation of personal adornments, the evolution of style over the centuries, and the early twentieth-century phenomenon of Egyptomania sparked by archaeological exploration in the region. Interactive components and interpretive programs will allow visitors of all ages to explore and experience themselves this fascinating aspect of ancient Egyptian culture.

Laura Marrs was the daughter of Boston mayor Otis Norcross (1811-1882) and wife of amateur photographer Kingsmill Marrs (d. 1912). During a trip to Egypt in 1908, the Marrs met archaeologist Howard Carter (1874-1939), who would later discover Tutankhamun’s tomb. The Marrs struck up a friendship with Carter, and they wrote letters and visited one another in Florence, Italy, and in Luxor, Egypt. Carter also advised them on purchasing antiquities—particularly jewelry, which was legal at that time. With his knowing eye and the Marrses' acumen, together they assembled a truly outstanding collection.

The exhibition is curated by Peter Lacovara, Ph.D., Director of The Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage Fund; and Yvonne Markowitz, Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator Emerita of Jewelry at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

For more information about this exhibition, click HERE to go to the Worcester Museum of Art website.

Speaker:

DR. PETER LACOVARA (B.A. 1976, Boston University; Ph.D. 1993 The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago) is the Director of The Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage Fund. He was Senior Curator of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum from 1998 to 2014. Previously he has served as Assistant Curator in the Department of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian and Near Eastern Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Currently he is also Consulting Curator for the Egyptian Collection at the Albany Institute of History and Art and Visiting Research Scholar at the American University in Cairo.
He has also taught at Syracuse University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Georgia State University, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and been the W. K. Simpson Distinguished Visiting Professor at the American University in Cairo. His archaeological fieldwork has included excavations at the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, the Palace city of Amenhotep III at Malqata in Western Thebes, Abydos, Hierakonpolis and at the Giza Plateau, and currently he is directing the survey and restoration of the site of Deir el-Ballas. His publications include studies on Daily Life and Urbanism in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian Mortuary Traditions, and the Material Culture of Ancient Egypt and Nubia.