The museum's
soft-opening will showcase "Crafts and Industries through the Ages"
in Egypt, offering free admission 16-28 February. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.
Under the name "Crafts and Industries through the Ages" the
National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) is set to open its first
temporary exhibition Wednesday evening, showcasing the history of four crafts
in Egypt: clay, jewellery, textiles and wood. The opening will be attended by
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
On a tour of the exhibition Monday, Egypt's Minister of Antiquities
Khaled El-Enany told Ahram Online that to celebrate the NMEC's soft opening the
museum will offer free admission from 16 through 28 February. Mahmoud Mabrouk,
the exhibition's designer, said the museum will showcase a collection of 400
artefacts selected from Cairo's Egyptian Museum, Coptic Museum, Museum of
Islamic Civilization and Al-Manial Palace Museum, as well as Alexandria's
Jewellery Museum and NMEC storage.
Final preparations for Wednesday's opening are currently underway. "The
exhibition will bring to life the continuation and development of ancient
crafts into modern times through graphics, multimedia electronic guides and a
documentary screening," Mabrouk said.
The most important artefacts, Mabrouk said, will be a collection of
prehistoric clay pots, the royal chair of Hetep-Heres, mother of King Khufu,
and a small ancient Egyptian stool carved from 120 wooden pieces. A Qabbati
robe textile and set of Islamic doors decorated with foliage and geometric
designs with ivory are also among the distinguished items to be displayed,
along with jewellery from Siwa, Nubia, Upper and Lower Egypt.
Saeed Mahrous, NMEC Supervisor-General told Ahram Online "This
exhibition is a step toward the NMEC’s third and final stage along the road to
opening; it includes the museum’s 23,000 square metre exhibition hall.” “The
exhibition will be organised by the chronology and geography of the artefacts,”
Saeed added.
Plans to create the NMEC began in 1982 and construction finished in
2009. In 2000 a location on Lake Ain Al-Sira in Fustat was selected and in 2002
the large, square foundation stone — the platform of the building's stylised
pyramid design — was installed.
When it opens fully to the public, the museum will display a collection
of 50,000 artefacts from different eras in Egyptian history from the
pre-dynastic through the modern age. The site houses a number of high-tech
storage galleries, as well as a state-of-the-art security system, much like its
counterparts the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris.
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