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Queen Nefertari takes the virtual truth through the elaborate tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Queens, built for her by her husband, Ramesses II.
The captivating experience of virtual truth is part of Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs, a dazzling, technology-rich exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco that illuminates the life and achievements of Ramses II. More than 3300 years ago, the celebrated pharaoh ruled Egypt for 67 years in a time of wonderful prosperity and empire for the country, and the exhibition features epic royal statues from the era of Ramesses II and gold funerary masks to adorn them.
“The temples he erected, the statues he commissioned, the monuments he inscribed in Egypt and Nubia, and the mortuary temple and royal tomb he built are reminders of his earthly strength and closeness to the gods,” said Renée Dreyfus, George and Judy Marcus Distinguished Curator in Charge of Ancient Art at the San Francisco Museums of Fine Arts. said in a statement. ” The proliferation of his calling led him to become almost synonymous with royalty. “
The traveling exhibition curated by archaeologist Zahi Has, former Minister of Antiquities of Egypt, and is presented in de Young until February 12, 2023, before proceeding to Paris. It combines more than 180 remarkably preserved ancient treasures from the time of Ramesses II, as well as plenty of years before and after him: sarcophagi, tomb-decorated relics, pearl jewelry, a mongoose and cats, mummified and probably presented as an offering to the gods. Some of the items never left Egypt.
The exhibition also shows its percentage of twenty-first century flourishes to make the main points of the XIX dynasty more tangible and accessible. Drone photography, for example, contributes to images of a dynamic multimedia recreation of one of the greatest victories of Ramesses the Great’s army, the Battle of Kadesh of 1275 BC. C. opposite the Hittite army of what is now Turkey.
A multimedia in the de Young Museum in San Francisco recreates one of the greatest victories of Ramesses II’s army, the Battle of Kadesh.
One gallery comprises the richly adorned wooden outer coffin of an elite craftsman who helped build and adorn royal tombs during the reign of Ramesses II and his father, Seti I. Giant screens line the gallery walls and hang from the ceiling, projecting the coffin in an elaborate manner. Scenes painted as theatrically lit photographic murals. Smaller hanging presentations show instances containing other ancient artifacts, to highlight each and every detail.
In this age of immersive exhibits that can immerse you in a painter’s world through 65 million pixels, care must be taken not to let technological elements overshadow art, says Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the San Francisco Museums of Fine Arts.
“But if done right,” Campbell told me, “the tech parts will carry useful context and visitor experience, and can act as a bridge to art, an invitation for new audiences to join the artworks in our galleries. “
In fact, nothing makes the immediacy here like a VR journey, serving as a tantalizing time capsule from Egypt’s celebrated Golden Age, thanks to HP Reverb G2 gaming headsets that deliver a hyper-realistic virtual experience.
I’ve been on a few VR adventures, but none are as multisensory as this one, transporting you through 360-degree sandstorms to triumph in two monuments Ramses II built for his beloved wife Nefertari.
The comfortable armchairs that twist, twist and shake make it almost unlikely that you’re not really floating in front of Abu Simbel’s grand rock-cut temples, like the virtual representation of the queen.
As I walked down the steep steps of Nefertari’s famous tomb into one of his rooms, I thought I might fall off my chair and down the stairs to the stone floor. I turned my head to catch the view over my two shoulders. A smell The component even delivered quick doses of six fragrances, adding incense, lavender and gunpowder, through a small dispenser placed on the chair. Ahhh, the aromas of 1200 BC.
Ramses Nefertari: Journey to Osiris’ cinematic chairs twist, twist and shake to give an impression of Array
Virtual truth hasn’t exactly become the customer generation that some had predicted, but with the right gadget and software, virtual truth can shine as an art form, especially in short experiments like this one, titled Ramses Nefertari: Journey to Osiris and produced by World Heritage Exhibitions.
“The VR experience has an educational purpose and brings the stories, the people to life and puts our visitors on display,” Campbell said. “With a hint of laughter, of course. “
The dream experience lasted more than 10 minutes and I honestly didn’t want it to end.
Those who feel the same way would possibly feel comfortable knowing that some of the proceeds from tickets to the exhibition will fund ongoing efforts to excavate and repair the 700-foot-long tomb of Ramesses II. that.
Archaeologist Zahi Has is leading a team working to repair the tomb of Ramesses II, which broke badly due to flooding.