Archives for February 2011

Egyptian protesters today at headquarters of Supreme Council of AntiquitiesPhoto on Twitter by Gigi IbrahimBy the end of the day, we may know more about how much of the following information on Twitter is fact and how much is rumor and speculation. There has been no further posting today, at this writing, on the website of Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Minister of Antiquities, who was … [Read more...] about From Twitter: Egyptian Demonstrators and Army Tank at Hawass Headquarters UPDATED

LEFT: Gilded wood statue of Tutankhamun harpooning, Egyptian Museum---torso and upper limbs of the king now missing (Photo from "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibition catalogue, 1976)RIGHT: Gilded wood statue of Tutankhamun being carried by a goddess, Egyptian Museum---now missing (Photo: Paul Lombardo [via])The sad and shocking results of the complete inventory that Zahi … [Read more...] about Stolen Heritage: Two Gilded Tut Statues Among 18 Objects Purloined from Egyptian Museum

BEFORE THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM BREAK-IN:Statue of of Tutankhamun standing on a panther, Egyptian Museum, CairoAFTER THE BREAK-IN:Restorer working on the statue (Tut's left arm is severed.)Photo: Stephanie Sakoutis (published on Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass' website)On a momentous day when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has reportedly ceded all power to the country's military … [Read more...] about One-Armed Tut: Hawass Issues Detailed Report on Damage at Egyptian Museum CLARIFIED

Jackson Pollock, "Mural," 1943, University of Iowa Museum of ArtReacting quickly and forcefully, the country's two leading professional associations for museums have combined their clout to issue this joint statement on the new attempt by Iowa state legislators to monetize the University of Iowa's great Pollock "Mural':The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the … [Read more...] about Saving Iowa’s Pollock: AAMD and AAM Jointly Blast Possible Sale

Pamela White, former interim director of the flood-ravaged University of Iowa Art Museum, and Sean O'Harrow, the museum's current director, in front of the university's "Mural," Jackson Pollock, 1943Let's move on, at least temporarily, from Egypt's cultural heritage (which has been CultureGrrl's preoccupation for the past two weeks) to Iowa's cultural heritage.As CultureGrrl … [Read more...] about Legislative Legerdemain: Iowa’s Rescued Pollock Again in Jeopardy?

Maarten Raven, field director, National Museum of Antiquities, LeidenI was away traveling when I wrote this post, which refers to the International Council of Museums' preliminary report, dated Feb. 3, on the antiquities situation in Egypt. While preparing that post in my hotel room, I was surprised to discover that the online link by which I and other writers had accessed … [Read more...] about ICOM’s Report on Egypt’s Museums and Archaeological Sites

Richard LeventhalICOM (International Council of Museums) on Feb. 3 issued a preliminary report on the antiquities situation in Egypt, including conflicting reports about Saqqara, which I have written about here and now also here, on the Huffington Post. (The link for ICOM's report, posted by numerous sources, is now broken, however.) On his website Sunday, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's … [Read more...] about Repatriate Objects to Egypt? BlogBack from Penn Cultural Center’s Richard Leventhal, Brian Daniels

The area of concern at Saqqara: A) Tourist entrance to Djoser Heb Sed Court; B) Pyramid of Unas; C) Unas Causeway; D) Maya (Treasurer); E) Horemheb (as a general---pharaonic tomb)Photo and caption from Restore + Save the Egyptian Museum! on FacebookThe non-Egyptian Egyptologist who had sent me this BlogBack has just fowarded to me an eyewitness account from a member of a French … [Read more...] about News Flash: Detailed Firsthand Report About Saqqara Looting UPDATED

Crowds outside the Egyptian Museum, CairoPhoto from Zahi Hawass' websiteZahi Hawass, recently named to the new Egyptian government post of Minister of Antiquities, reiterates again today on his website that Egypt's antiquities are safe. He leads off his latest post by emphasizing his own bureaucratic standing:I have come into this new position at a very critical time, but the … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Egyptologist Decries Rumors About Antiquities Looting (but concerns persist)

Mummy at the Egyptian MuseumImage from Zahi Hawass' websiteSamantha Henig of the New Yorker, in the magazine's Back Issues blog today, raises the question of whether Zahi Hawass will remain as Egypt's antiquities chief, "even if the Mubarak government falls." (That's more likely to be a "when," not an "if.")Ian Parker, who wrote a detailed, deprecating 2009 profile for the New … [Read more...] about Egyptian Turmoil: Will Hawass Survive a Regime Change?

Al Jazeera English's live blog from Cairo reported today at 6:12 p.m., Cairo time (11:12 a.m., New York time) that "the Egyptian Museum was fire bombed and the army is now trying to put out the fire." In a recent news report, Al Jazeera stated: The worst of the fighting was just outside the world famous Egyptian Museum.CNN has now posted live footage of the mayhem in front of … [Read more...] about Fire Reported at Egyptian Museum; Hawass’ Deeply Flawed Crisis Response

The ad hoc advisory committee appointed by the Smithsonian Board of Regents to examine exhibition policies in the wake of "Hide/Seek" stated in its report that "avoiding the risks necessary to illuminate the important issues facing society and the American public would diminish the role of the nation's cultural organization."Nevertheless, will Smithsonian curators now feel more … [Read more...] about NPG’s David Ward Advises Smithsonian’s Wayne Clough: “Listen to the Museum Directors”