Gallery Talk: Wrapped for Eternity: Ancient Egyptian “Mummies”

Join us for a special Gallery talk with Exhibition Curator, Megan Paqua! Gallery Talk: Wrapped for Eternity: Ancient Egyptian “Mummies” with Exhibition Curator, Megan Paqua is presented in conjunction with Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt (September 18-December 12, 2026) Bellarmine Hall Galleries. This exhibition will explore the enduring fascination with ancient Egyptian art and culture (dubbed “Egyptomania” by 19th-century Europeans) through a selection of paintings, prints, photographs, and decorative art ranging from the early 19th century through the present day. These objects, from the humble to the refined, from the shamelessly commercial to the Afrofuturist, represent the range of artistic responses to – and misconceptions about – ancient Egyptian visual culture. Paradoxically, this enthusiasm for Egyptian symbols and motifs contributed to the erasure of the ancient Egyptian people themselves, as their beliefs and customs became exoticized in popular memory. The exhibition will examine how these objects reflect the phenomenon of “Egyptomania” over the last two centuries and will position their oversimplified or stereotypical narratives in conversation with current archaeological understandings of ancient Egyptian culture. The exhibition is curated by Megan Paqua (adjunct instructor of ancient Egyptian archaeology and art history and Fairfield University Art Museum Registrar). Sponsored by Michael T. Vigario, ‘08 and Wealthspire. Charles-Théodore Frère, Along the Nile, ca. 1870, oil on panel. Fairfield University Art Museum, Gift of Michael T. Vigario’08, 2023, 2023.11.01