17th April: The Prime Minister will open the exhibition „Discovering Ancient Egypt“

It is my pleasure to invite you to the official opening of the exhibition „Discovering Ancient Egypt, to take place on 17th April, 2008, starting at 6 p.m., in the Liechtenstein Palace (U Sovových mlýnů 4/506, Prague 1 – Kampa).

Together with the Czech Prime Minister, it will be opened by Her Excellency Amal Mostafa K. Mourad, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the Czech Republic, Dean of the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University Michal Stehlík, General Director of the National Museum in Prague Michal Lukeš, and the outstanding Czech Egyptologist Professor Miroslav Verner.

The 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Czech Institute of Egyptology will be marked by an exposition of a unique set of photographs and over one hundred objects from the collections of the Náprstek Museum in Prague which has been presenting the results of the work of Czech Egyptologists and promoting interest in ancient Egypt in the Czech Lands on a long-term basis.
The most precious exhibits include funerary goods found in the grave of Princess Khekeret-Nebty (Old Kingdom, cca 2510-2365 BC) – a headrest from Egyptian alabaster, a set of limestone canopies, miniature alabaster and copper vessels and a ceramic basin. The National Museum loaned a relief panel with the portrait of King Taharka.

Exhibits relating to the last two decades of Czech archaeological research in Egypt include a mosaic of photographs whose author Martin Frouz, photographer and editor of the Czech version of National Geographic, has been cooperating with Czech Egyptologists since 2003. Apart from the latest discoveries of the Czech team, they capture the unique atmosphere of archaeological excavations in Egypt.

The everyday work carried out by the Czech expedition in the Western Desert in 2007 is documented by a film, shown in conjunction with the exhibition, the title of which – “The Policeman’s Well” – is literal translation of “Bir el Shovish”, the local name of the site. shown in conjunction with the exhibition. The story was written by Mireček Bárta, Tomáš Petráň was behind the camera and Martin Čihák did the editing.

The exhibition, which will be open for the public from 18th till 27th April, is organized by the Office of Czech Government, the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures (branch of the National Museum, and the Czech Institute of Egyptology at the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in Prague, under the aegis of Premier Mirek Topolánek.


Jana Bartošová, press spokeswoman of the Government of the Czech Republic