Exhibition explores how Egyptian relics came to Derby

Derby Museums' Tony Butler said the exhibition is about the history of the collection and not of Egypt

A new exhibition has opened exploring the Egyptian collection owned by Derby Museums and how it came to be here.

Displaced: From the Nile to the Derwent will be open to the public until 24 November at Derby Museum and Art Gallery.

Items including two mummified ancient Egyptians named Pypyu and Pa-sheri and part of a pyramid detached by dynamite blasts form part of the displays.

The exhibition explores the ethics of archaeology and the colonial origins of much of the material held by British institutions.

Tony Butler, executive director of Derby Museums, said: “It explores the history of the collection of ancient Egyptian material at the museum. It’s asking questions about how and why Derby came to house these amazing objects from a country thousands of miles away.

“They’re here because we took them, our ancestors took them from Egypt over the last 200 years and much of the material was acquired during the colonial period.

“Many Europeans went to places like Luxor or Cairo and took material, dug things up.

“This exhibition talks about the ethics of archaeology, it tries to correct some of the misconceptions about Egypt, put flesh on the bones about this material.”

Modern day Derby is now home to a host of ancient relics from Egypt, like this wooden sarcophagus

The exhibition features new research into some of Derby Museum’s most popular items, as well as pieces on loan from other institutions including Manchester Museum, the British Museum and private collections.

Visitors will be encouraged to share their thoughts about the sometimes challenging histories and ethics surrounding these collections.

Laura Phillips, head of interpretation and display, added: “A key aspect of the exhibition is understanding with visitors how much they want to see – giving them the choice about whether to view the mummified remains or everything but, including never before seen CT scans.”

As part of the project, schoolchildren in Derby have been connecting with pupils in Egypt.

Education is key to the new project, say Tony Butler and Rachael Wayne

Rachael Wayne, formal learning programmes coordinator, said: “Our Egypt collections and in particular our mummified people have been very popular with families and schools over many years. We thought it was important to have a children’s voice in the exhibition.

“We created a project between Bemrose School and a school in Luxor, Future International School.

“We did some live lessons, we did some artwork, the children learnt about each other’s childhood and shared each other's culture.

“The children got a deep understanding of our collections, and also each other.”

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