Gift of the Nile – John Mason Cook’s Egyptian Statue

Description

Take a closer look at the recently acquired Ancient Egyptian statue.

This spotlight exhibition is an opportunity to take a closer look at the recently acquired Ancient Egyptian statue.

The statue is of a seated Egyptian couple, Sethmose and Isinofret.  It was presented to John Mason Cook, son of Thomas Cook, by the Egyptian Administration in the 1890s. It was part of the Thomas Cook Travel Company archive and became available for purchase when the company went into administration in 2019.

The statue is from the New Kingdom period of Ancient Egypt, which is around 3,000 years ago. The New Kingdom period was the golden age of the civilization of Ancient Egypt.

The statue is made from black granite. Only Royal Egyptians were allowed to use this type of stone, therefore the statue could only have been made with royal permission.  Statues such as this usually sat in public spaces, like temples, and were meant to be viewed by people walking around them.

This exhibition offers a rare chance to view the statue as it would have been originally displayed.

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