On display in Rome until 3 May 2026 is an exhibition entitled Treasures of the Pharaohs. It is housed in the Scuderie (once the stables) of Rome’s Quirinal Palace. The palace was constructed between 1573 and 1583 as the popes’ summer residence, and was occupied by pontiffs from Gregory XIII (1572-1585) to Pius IX (1846-1878); it then became the residence of Italy’s royal family from 1870, and, since 1946, of Italy’s President.
This is the first time that the Egyptian government has mounted an exhibition of its ancient artefacts in Rome, and only the second time that Egypt has lent any of its ancient artefacts to Italy. The 130 objects in Treasures of the Pharaohs are displayed in six sections, thematically and not chronologically: the gold of the pharaohs; life after death; people around the pharaoh; religion; kingship; and ‘The Golden City’. Displayed in dark rooms in spotlit glass cases (some of which include mirrors to see the interiors of coffins) or free-standing but spotlit, the artefacts explore: the importance of gold (Egypt is still an important source today); the complexity of ancient Egyptian society, not only royal power and the divine authority of the pharaohs, but also daily life; religious beliefs; Egypt’s multiple gods and goddesses; funerary customs; the afterlife; and ancient Egypt’s artistic achievements over a period of 3,000 years.
The exhibition’s scope
The exhibition spans the entire arc of ancient Egyptian history, from the Early Dynastic Period (c.3150-2890 BC) to the Late Period (664-332 BC). Only one artefact, an arm-shaped gilded wood incense-burner, dates to a later time – the Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC) – although such objects were frequently depicted earlier on the walls of temples, tombs, and on religious stelae. For, as the catalogue tells us:
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