University of Memphis students don't have to go all the way toThe Pyramid to enjoy a bit of Egyptian history.
Tucked inside The U of M Art Museum in the Communication andFine Arts building is the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology(IEAA). It is a substantial collection of artifacts from the NileValley spanning a period from 3500 B.C. to A.D. 700 -- a collectionthat has grown exponentially since the IEAA was founded in1984.
"The collection has increased from (the original) 44 pieces toover 1,300," said Patricia Podzorski, curator of Egyptian Art.
The IEAA obtains the relics from a number of differentsources.
"A vast majority of the pieces are donated to us by privatedonors, some are donated through personal contacts of faculty,"Podzorski said.
The exhibit also displays material on loan from prestigiousEgyptian collections around the world.
"We have loan material from the British Museum, the MetropolitanMuseum (in New York) and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,"Podzorski said. "We are very fortunate that the program here isregarded highly among peers at the international level."
The IEAA's collection consists of pieces fr om every facet ofEgyptian life -- ornaments, everyday tools, dishes, statues andeven a mummified cat. The artifacts are ordered by date ofproduction and by each item's use. Placards identify all objectsand many have information to assist the viewer in understanding thecultural value of the item or its historical placement.
Among the more popular items in the Egyptian exhibit are themummified remains of Iret-irew. While the IEAA also has Iret-irew'ssarcophagus and burial mask, they are displayed separately so theremains of the man can actually be seen.
Two of the more rare items -- each among Podzorski's favorites-- are a loaf of bread and a piece of cooked goose. Each item isover 4,000 years old.
The IEAA is designated as a Center of Excellence by the State ofTennessee. "We get partial funding directly from the state todirectly support research," Podzorski said. "So we can do thingsabove and beyond what other faculty can do."
For the IEAA this money helps support excavation projects inEgypt and also funds egyptologists as guest lecturers
While there are no scheduled lecturers this fall, last year'slecturers included Salima Ikram from American University in Cairo,director of the Cairo Museum Animal Mummy Room. All lectures arefree to the public.
According to art museum assistant Angela Taylor, the Egyptianexhibit -- along with an African masks exhibit --maintain acontinuous presence at the art museum while other exhibits changefrequently.
"We change exhibits about every month and a half," Taylorsaid.
People come to exhibits for a variety of reasons, Taylor said.Often students are required to attend for class. Numerouselementary and secondary schools bring students over as well. Butsome just come to enjoy the art.
The current exhibit -- Max '03 -- will continue until Sept. 6.The museum will then close for two weeks in preparation of the newexhibit, Operation Human Intelligence. All exhibitions are free tothe public.
