Dendur

In this art study, the affect of contemporary museum culture in the United States, Europe, and Egypt define the exhibition trend of “replicating the real” in terms of spatial exhibitions of historical artifacts from Egypt. In the United States, I found the Metropolitan Museum of Art presentation of the Temple of Dendur as an example of the internalized exhibition of ancient Egyptian culture in a large-scale urban environment. In a similar manner, the Louvre presents large rooms with Egyptian columns and statuary that also depict the replication of Egyptians historical sites within the confines of the museum. This contemporary placement of Egyptian artifacts presents architectural amalgamations in the museum for the visitor to observe as a replication …show more content…
The Temple of Dendur is one example of the way that artifacts from ancient Egypt have been collected and reassembled to “replicate the real” in terms of large architectural objects in the museum. This exhibition is a permanent site in the museum, which reflects the apogee of contemporary museum culture in terms of replicating the spatial area of the temple inside a confined area. Of course, this large-scale replication of the Temple of Dendur is part of the more socially interactive experience of allowing visitors to walk around and amongst the remnants of an ancient Egyptian temple. This is an important change from the traditional perspective of encased or roped-off sections of a museum in which visitors were not allowed to get close to an artifact. In this manner, some of the ancient Egyptian statues near the Temple of Dendur break down the barriers to social interaction in this form of “replicating the real” at the …show more content…
In this massive complex, the architectural preservation of the White Chapel of Senwosret I and the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut are important examples of artifacts that have been preserved in their native location. I found this to be a more powerful presentation of these artifacts because they are not merely being re-assembled in the contemporary environment of an American or European museum. More so, the Egyptian people have possession of these national treasures as part of a regional presentation of their indigenous culture and historical background. In some cases, the red Chapel has been reconstructed to its original architectural specifications, which does not define the modernity of “replicating the real” as part of recreating the actual environment and architectural details of a historical monument. Naturally, this type of open-air museum provides a rebuilt architectural presentation, but it is placed within the original landscape in which these buildings existed. In contrast to the American and European museums, it is evident that the Open Air Museum at Karnak presents a more historical accurate and localized setting in which to enjoy the ancient architecture of the Egyptians. The Open Air Museum, however, was not rebuilt without the help of European archeologists and historians, which worked alongside Egyptian historians to re-create