
Gods and Mortals of Ancient Egypt
Project financed from the EEA Grants 2014-2021, through the RO-CULTURE Program
Contract no. RO-CULTURE-A1-2/2020/31.01.2020
Project period: February 2020 – June 2022
Contract value: 615.547,61 LEI (128.719,10 EURO)
Team:
Management: Felix Marcu, George Cupcea, Victoria Barabas
Implementation: Eugenia Beu-Dachin, Irina Nemeti, Diana Bindea, Ioana Cova, Sabin Grapini, Monica Bodea, Sanda Man.
The general objective: the promotion of the Egyptian collection by creating an innovative exhibition, with preserved and restored objects
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Transylvanian Museum in Cluj was the beneficiary of donations that contributed to the creation of a valuable Egyptian collection. Later, they came under the management of the National History Museum of Transylvania.
The Egyptian collection consists mainly of votive and funerary objects, the most important piece being a human mummy placed in a painted wooden sarcophagus from Gamhud (Egypt). The collection also includes some mummified organs or parts of the human body (hand, phalluses, lung), but also some animal mummies – falcons, birds, crocodiles; ushebti statuettes, made of glazed earthenware or painted wood, also belong to the category of funerary pieces. The gallery of votive objects is completed by statuettes of divinities such as Isis, Osiris, Harpokrates.
The ZMEA project is an interdisciplinary one and has several specific objectives, among which: the preservation and restoration of the Egyptian collection, as well as its enhancement by creating a modern exhibition, integrated both visually and informationally in the gallery of international exhibitions dedicated to this theme ; the improvement of museographers, restorers, conservators by collaborating with specialists from the Museum of Fine Arts and the Faculty of Fine Arts in Budapest; the use of modern investigative methods (special photos with UV and infrared filters, CT and X-rays of the mummies, 3D scans of some parts); making a documentary film, but also a specialized catalog.
The collaboration with institutions such as the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca for medical imaging investigations, but also with the Technical University for 3D scans of some pieces from the collection led to an increase in knowledge about the artefacts and facilitated their interpretation, but also the appreciation internal degradations.
The specialty catalog and informative materials in the form of printable stickers on the walls, the documentary film, but also recordings of CT and X-ray investigations, of 3D scans will complete the showcase show.



