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Showing of "Isis and the Plumed Serpent" exhibit
Notimex/MVC - El Financiero | Translation by Eduardo Rincón Gallardo - March 2008
 The exhibit “Isis and the Plumed Serpent” at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City will extend over an area of 3,500 square meters, with almost 400 pieces, it expects to lure around 800,000 visitors starting February 28. The exhibit will be inaugurated by President Felipe Calderón.
Organized in collaboration with the Egyptian government, this temporary showing considered the most extensive in history, will offer a large scope over the two most important antique deities of both countries.
In a press conference, Alfonso de Maria y Campos, director general of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), said the exhibit will occupy an area enlarged to this effect extending into the Hall of Indigenous Cultures of Mexico, the museum’s main hall and the area known as Half-Moon.
 After its successful exhibition at the International Forum of Cultures held in Monterrey in 2007, the space where prehispanic pieces from all over Mexico along with antique Egyptian works of art, the officer said, will be equipped with a new lighting system, security cameras and humidity systems as well as new modules which took an investment of about 15 million pesos during 2007.
The showing will also offer alternate activities, including a cycle of masters’ conferences to be inaugurated by Zahi Hawass, president of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, and by archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma on the part of Mexico.
Both are renowned specialists in both countries and both were charged with the positions of curators for the exhibit. Aly Hosussam Eldin Elhefny Mahmoud, ambassador from the Arabic Republic of Egypt in Mexico, stated that the exhibition is part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries on the 31st of March, which has brought about the declaration of 2008 as the year of Egyptian culture in Mexico.
The celebration will feature various activities geared at strengthening the relationship of the two countries in the political, touristic and cultural fields.
This exhibit marks the first opportunity in history to bring two civilizations considered the best of the old and new world closer and into a dialogue, without looking for analogies but at the diversity of both cultures. To that effect the deities “Isis” and “Quetzalcoatl” were chosen, both considered the wisest and most beneficial Gods of both civilizations.
 The museum tour will be supported by videos and electronic capsules providing visitors with a better appreciation of the pieces coming from different museums and archaeological sites in both countries making this a most complex and intense exhibition.
Organizers expect the visit of 1,500 persons daily and tickets will be available threee days prior to the inauguration. Purchases may be programmed to avoid waiting in line outside the museum. Tickets can also be obtained through the “Ticketmaster” system at a cost of 50 pesos per person.
The 144 pieces coming from Egypt extend over a period of approximately three thousand years, 28 Pharaoh dynasties; while the Mexican part, including over 200 pieces, features objects from the Olmeca culture dating back to 1000a.c. all the way to the Aztecs of the Late Post Classic period of the XV century. The show will last until June 25th. Email to a friend
Source: www.presidencia.gob.mx/
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