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Home , Amanitore, Meroitic language

the gold of meroe

The Metropolitan Museum of Art November 23,1993-April 3,1994 EGYPT

lower

Qasr Ibrim Abu Simbcl

Second (Cataract

Solch

Third Cataract

S U D A N

100 mil meroe, kingdom on the nile 270 B.C.-A.I). 350 climate trade ancient world relations Nubia and Egypt, neighbors along the Nile Meroe's location at the convergence of a In the ancient world, the kingdom ofMeroe in northeastern Africa, have long been closely network of caravan roads with Upper Nile existed as an independent state at the borders linked by similar living conditions, but the River trade routes made it East Africa's most of the Hellenistic world and later the Roman Nubian climate is by far the harsher. Restricted important center of trade. Goods traveling empire. There were clashes between the largely to narrow strips of arable land along north into Egypt and the Mediterranean were Meroites and both these world powers, chiefly the riverbanks and confined cast and west age-old African products: gold, ebony, and over control of . But the Meroites by waterless deserts, Nubia's inhabitants (in ivory. In addition, evidence suggests, Meroites stood their ground, and the largest part of modern southern Egypt and ) live under had a hand in procuring elephants for the war Lower Nubia remained under their control, a scorching sun and with relentless desert machines of the Hellenistic world. For their with Roman influence terminating south winds. Somewhat different living conditions own markets, Meroites manufactured richly of Dakka. prevail in Nubia's deep south where increased decorated cotton textiles, graceful ceramic summer rainfall and seasonal river flow create vessels, bronze and iron objects, and luxury the end a steppe environment (Butana Steppe). It is goods. The accumulated wealth enabled the In the fourth century A.D., the kingdom here, on the east bank of the Nile, roughly Meroites to import from the Mediterranean of Meroe disintegrated and vanished in the 125 miles north of present-day Khartoum, that and Egypt precious metal and glass vessels, population shifts that took place in Africa, the city ofMeroe was situated. ceramics, and wine. Asia, and Europe during Late Antiquity. A new center of power had by that time founding of the kingdom society developed south of Meroe, around Axum The kingdom ofMeroe evolved from the Meroitic society was remarkably urbanized. in Ethiopia. preceding kingdom of (ca. 800-270 Scholars have suggested that, at least in the B.C.) with no fundamental cultural break later part of Meroe's history, a sizable middle between them. Meroe had been an important class participated in the country's wealth. city before, even serving as Nubia's capital However, palaces and pyramids built for the from around 500 B.C. But it was not until ca. rulers, their families, and court personnel 270 B.C., when King Arkamani-qo (Greek: attest to the presence of a strong ruling class. Ergamenes I) transferred the royal burial One of the great achievements of these rulers place to a mountain ridge near Meroe, that appears to have been the balance they the Meroitic phase of the maintained between secular and religious (the ancient name for Nubia) is said to have powers. Nevertheless, the priesthood of Amun definitely begun. at the traditional temple site of Gebel Barkal (Napata) continued to wield considerable influence on Meroitic society. queen amanishakheto ca. 41-12 B.C.

ruler in her own right amanishakheto's palace Women played an important role in the A more personal-view of the queen can be the Roman prefect of Egypt took his army Meroitic kingdom. Among forty-four rulers glimpsed through knowledge of one of her into Upper Nubia and destroyed Napata. buried under pyramids at Meroe, nine were palaces, at Wad Ban Naga, 40 miles south of Eventually a treaty was negotiated on the female. Some of these queens bore the full Meroe. The palace, which is roughly 200 feet Aegean island of Samos between the emperor title of a ruler (Meroitic: qore) in addition to square, was built of mud brick; the exterior Augustus and emissaries of the queen of their title ("queen mother"; modern was faced with burnt brick and stuccoed. On Meroe. It stipulated that the Romans were to name Candace). As attested by the state rings the ground floor a columned entrance hall retain their domination over only the northern among Amanishakheto's jewelry, each ruler was surrounded by rectangular vaulted store­ part of Lower Nubia while the kingdom of was believed to have been born from a union rooms. When the palace was excavated in Meroe was to remain independent. of the kandake with Meroe's supreme god, 1958-60, one storeroom still contained the Amun. This conferred divinity not only on ebony and ivory supplies stored there for the In the course of his narrative, the Greek the ruler but also on his mother. In cases of a queen. The living quarters were located on historian Strabo describes the queen of Meroe king's minority or other situations unknown the second floor. Columns with composite as "... a masculine sort of woman and blind to us, the kandake became a co-ruler with capitals adorned with triple rams' heads of in one eye." the king. In other instances ruled in Amun supported the ceilings of some of the their own right. Amanishakheto was a ruler apartments. Gilded stucco reliefs depicted the queen's pyramid in her own right. the queen performing rituals, and terracotta Amanishakheto was buried on the traditional figures of lions and falcons stood about the Meroitic stone bench in a subterranean inscriptions rooms. The remains of furniture included chamber of the chapel in front of her pyramid Amanishakheto, whose reign probably coin­ bronze inlay plaques, one bearing the image in the North cemetery at Meroe. Robbers cided with the last years of the famous Queen of a toad in relief. later plundered her burial site, leaving below of Egypt, is one of a small number ground only a group of broken musical of Meroitic rulers whose names appear on the clash with the romans instruments: at least nine, and perhaps twelve, monuments other than their pyramids. In Most scholars date the queen's reign to wind instruments made of ivory encased in 13 B.C. a Greek inscription honoring the 41-12 B.C. Therefore, Amanishakheto, and bronze. Were these instruments played at the queen was carved into a wall of the temple of not her predecessor Queen Amanirenas, as has funeral of the queen? Dakka, in Lower Nubia. At Kawa, Upper also been suggested, would have reigned in Nubia, she dedicated additions or renovations 24 B.C. Ancient Greek and Roman historians The ancient robbers failed to find the queen's to a temple originally built by the great have described how in this year the Meroites jewelry, which was deposited high up in the Napatan king Taharqa (690-664 B.C.). conquered Lower Nubia. In a counterattack pyramid's masonry core. the discovery of the jewelry and the manner of its disposition

ferlini's report the niche Ferlini reports that the opening exposed by his Various points are not clear in this report. workmen "was formed of poorly laid stones For instance, Ferlini does not say at what and permitted ... a dim view into a cavity exact distance from the top of the pyramid and its contents [in the rubble filling of the the chamber was located. We do not know, pyramid]. . . . the large blocks that lay above therefore, whether the small niche seen in the it [we] removed, exposing a rectangular casing near the top of the pyramid (see large chamber whose four walls consisted of large image at left) is situated at the same height blocks that were parallel to the steps of the as the chamber. The niche is not open at the outer surface of the pyramid. back and thus certainly does not frame an entrance, but it might still have symbolically "The chamber was roughly five feet high and marked the place of the hidden chamber. six or seven feet square. The first thing we saw was a large object covered with a white the shrine cloth of cotton or linen, which fell into shreds Most questions concern the nature of the at the mere touch. Beneath it there emerged a wooden structure described by Ferlini as four-sided bed or bier [in the French version a bed, bier, table, or altar. Scholars have of his report Ferlini calls it a "kind of table or concluded that according to known funerary 1834 altar"], supported by four smooth feet shaped customs of the Nile valley the structure The jewelry of Queen Amanishakheto was like round staves and with sides formed of was most probably a shrine whose roof was discovered in 1834 by the Italian physician numerous pieces of wood, alternating large supported at the corners by slender columns Giuseppe Ferlini in a hidden chamber near the and small, depicting symbolic figures. Under (the "staves"), and whose sides were formed top of the queen's pyramid. With archaeology this 'bier' I found a [bronze] vase, which by a latticework of Hathor columns and then in its infancy, Ferlini left only a verbal contained objects wrapped in cloth of the other unknown emblems (see drawing at report of the position of the objects as he same type as the above-mentioned. left). Since shrines of the type constructed found them. The drawing above illustrates for Amanishakheto's jewelry were used in Ferlini's verbal report, using for the reconr "On the floor of the chamber next to the Egypt to enclose the remains of the deceased's struction of the wooden shrine contemporary vase lay bits of glass paste and stones strung body, one might argue that Amanishakheto's models of Egyptian wooden shrines. The on threads into chains, also amulets, little jewelry was considered part of her body. drawing is, at best, a suggestion of how the idols, a metal case, little turned boxes, a saw, The use of linen to wrap precious objects, objects were positioned when the queen's a mallet, and numerous other objects." as well as to cover the shrine in the manner undertakers closed the chamber. of a funeral pall, is a well-known burial practice in the Nile valley. jewelry technique at meroe

The jewelers ofMeroe, inheritors of the inlays necessary to fill the cloison completely with Egyptian tradition of metal-working, did not During the Pharaonic period, Egyptian fused glass. In Meroe, however, multiple essentially alter this tradition, even as they jewelry was customarily inlaid with semi­ filling appears not to have been generally turned it to the service of a distinctly different precious stones such as jasper, carnelian, done, for the glass displays a distinctly culture. Like their predecessors, the Meroite turquoise, and làpis lazuli. In the usual concave surface even though it fills the goldsmiths employed a fairly simple repertoire technique, fine ribbons of gold were bent into cloisons to their edges. of tools and techniques, and displayed extraor­ a particular pattern and soldered on edge to a dinary skill in creating jewelry of unsurpassed gold plate, forming multiple cells, or cloisons. red glass inlays beauty and finesse. The stones were cut into shapes that matched Blue, light blue, and green enamels were used the compartments, then cemented into place as well as white and black. When red appears, goldwork with tinted plaster. Flat-topped stones usually it is in fact an inlay, probably a glass, set in Gold, usually purer and thus softer than were set even with the upper edge of the a vivid red cement that frequently survives that in use today, was hammered into sheets gold ribbons, creating a smooth surface even when the inlay has been lost. Why was and cut with chisels rather than with shears. of colored stones separated by gold lines red enamel not used? The red glass used in Linear decoration was applied with tools (cloisonné inlay). In addition to natural stones, antiquity was colored with copper and was that displaced the metal (chasing) instead glass and glasslike compositions were inlaid extremely sensitive to conditions of firing. of cutting into it (engraving). Repetitive in the same fashion, although the fusibility If heated either too long or at too high a elements in relief were frequently made by of glass was rarely exploited. temperature, the surface of the red glass working thin sheets of gold into dies of would begin to turn green. We may suppose metal or stone, while wire was produced enamel that the jewelers ofMeroe, fearful of this by carefully twisting narrow strips of gold Unlike those in Pharaonic Egypt, the cloisonné discoloration, chose to inlay the red rather foil into long thin cylinders. Soldering seems jewelers ofMeroe employed glass exclusively, than risk fusing it in place. usually to have been done by heating the gold although stones were mounted as independent along with a trace of a copper compound— gems. The glass was fused in place, and thus is so-called colloidal soldering. This technique, true cloisonné enamel rather than inlay. The while requiring enormous precision, produced appropriate colored glasses, all of which were joints of great delicacy and strength. Minute opaque, were crushed to a coarse powder gold beads (granules) and finely wrought that was used to fill the cloisons. The gold wires, as well as other decorative elements, was then fired, melting the glass powder thus could be adhered to a gold substrate and producing a smooth, continuous surface without fear of obscuring the decoration in within the cloison. In melting the powdered a flood of molten solder. glass, more than one repetition is usually meroitic writing

Meroitic is the oldest known African script language after Egyptian hieroglyphic. The earliest Altogether some 800 Meroitic inscriptions Meroitic inscription dates to the reign of are known, mostly from stelae, offering tables Queen Shanakdakhcte, ca. 170 B.C., but the (such as the one exhibited here), and graffiti. itself was probably invented Although we can pronounce the individual several centuries earlier. words of these inscriptions and translate simple formalized texts, the language itself alphabet remains largely undeciphered. No bilingual Unlike the Egyptians, Meroitic scribes used texts have yet been discovered, and Meroitic an alphabetic script to write their language. is not closely related to any other known The Meroitic alphabet consists of twenty- language, although some of its words are three signs, plus a word divider, taken from similar to Nubian, spoken today in northern Egyptian hieroglyphs. Some of the hieroglyphs Sudan. By carefully analyzing surviving have the same meaning in Egyptian and Meroitic inscriptions, scholars have deduced Meroitic: for example, the picture of an owl, much about the grammatical structure of which represents the consonant m. In other the language: unlike ancient Egyptian, for cases, Meroitic has used only part of the value example, Meroitic does not distinguish gender, of the Egyptian sign: for instance, the image and its verbs come at the end of the sentence. o[ a ram, used for the letter b, comes from the But the meaning of its larger inscriptions still Egyptian word bi ("ram"). eludes discovery. inscriptions Meroitic was spoken by the inhabitants of Meroitic hieroglyphic inscriptions are rare and Nubia from at least the time of the Egyptian are used mostly for royal texts or in temples. New Kingdom (ca. 1500 B.C.). To judge Most texts use a cursive form of the signs, from the disappearance of its inscriptions, the developed from the Egyptian cursive writing, language probably died out sometime after called hieratic. Both scripts were deciphered the fourth century A.D. by the British Egyptologist F. L. Griffith at the beginning of this century by using the Egyptian values of the signs and comparing Meroitic proper names with their Greek equivalents. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

For Release: Immediate Contact: Harold Hölzer Jill Schoenbach

THE GO.LD OF MEROE, AN ANCIENT NUBIAN QUEEN'S JEWELRY, ON VIEW AT METROPOLITAN MUSEUM

Exhibition dates: November 23, 1993-April 3, 1994 Exhibition location: Special Exhibition Gallery for Egyptian Art (inaugural exhibition), Lila Acheson Wallace Galleries of Egyptian Art Press preview: Monday, November 22, 10 a.m.-noon

The complete jewelry of a Nubian ruler, Queen Amanishakheto of the ancient kingdom of Meroe, will be presented for the first time outside Germany in The Gold ofMeroe, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from November 23, 1993, through April 3, 1994. Dating from ca. 20 B.C., this treasure comprises some 200 extraordinary pieces of gold and silver jewelry set with semi-precious stones, colored glass, and early glass enamel. It is considered to be one of the most remarkable discoveries in the ancient valley of the Nile. The exhibition is made possible by the Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation, Inc. The art of Nubia, the region south of the ancient border of Egypt at , hitherto has not received attention commensurate with its significance. This exhibition differs from most other recent displays of Nubian objects by focusing on one particular period, the Meroitic, and concentrating on objects of singular artistic quality. "Apart from their sheer beauty, originality of design, and exquisite workmanship, these remarkable pieces represent a veritable compendium of state ideology and theology," said Philippe de Montebello, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Gold ofMeroe is therefore enormously significant because the collection illuminates an entire ancient culture that the present-day public does not know at all well." The kingdom of Meroe flourished in the south of Nubia from ca. 270 B.C. to 350 A.D. The capital, Meroe, on the east bank of the Nile about 125 miles north of present-day Khartum, Sudan, boasted extensive palaces with Roman-style baths and various temples to Amun and other gods. On a nearby desert ridge rose the steep-sided sandstone pyramids of the Meroitic rulers. The treasure of Queen Amanishakheto was found in 1834 by the Italian physician, -MORE-

Communications Department 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028-0198 212-570-3951 Fax 212-472-2764 THE GOLD OF MEROE PAGE 2

Giuseppe Ferlini, in a hidden chamber at the top of the queen's pyramid at Meroe. Ferlini, who served as a military doctor in the Egyptian army of occupation in the Sudan from 1830-1834, had applied to the authorities for permission to excavate. Following the custom of the day, Ferlini became sole owner of his find. Subsequently, one part was sold in 1840 to King Ludwig I of Bavaria and the rest, some years later, to King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia. The treasure remained divided for more than 150 years between what eventually became the Staatliche Sammlung Aegyptischer Kunst in Munich, and the Aegyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung in Berlin. Following the reunification of Germany, an exhibition in the summer of 1992 at the Staatliche Museen-Preussischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin reunited the complete treasure for the first time since its discovery. The Metropolitan's exhibition comprises all the Ferlini objects from the Berlin and Munich museums. In the Meroitic ruling family, women played a predominant role as "queen mothers" (kandake) and even as rulers in their own right. Reliefs on the front of her pyramid chapel show Amanishakheto's impressive figure subduing prisoners, indicating that she was both a "queen mother" and a ruler. A Meroitic queen's jewelry was meant to serve state and religious purposes ~ as well as the aims of body adornment. The collection of Queen Amanishakheto includes seven unique and elaborate ornaments, known as "shield rings," which presumably were worn above the forehead. These show the heads of various gods, most importantly a ram- headed deity and a lion-headed deity, frequently in association with a shrine that is meant to symbolize Gebel Barkal, the holy rock butte of Napata just north of the Fourth Cataract along the Nile. Also featured are the queen's broad, hinged armlets and bracelets. These are decorated for purposes of magic or protection with images of the winged goddess Mut, consort of Amun; a winged moon goddess; and the god Khonsu, son of Amun and Mut and also a moon god. Most prominent among Amanishakheto's jewelry are 62 massive rings of gold, silver, and jade. Their bezels carry engraved designs showing the birth of the heir to the throne through a union of the queen with the god Amun; the goddess with the Horus child; various other gods of the Meroitic pantheon; and a variety of sacred animals and emblems. Many of the rings show traces of life-long wear. When discovered by Ferlini, the queen's jewelry was contained in a large bronze basin under a shrine, with collars and necklaces composed of 15 different types of amulets and beads -MORE- THE GOLD OF MEROE PAGE 3 spread around as votives. These jewelry elements as well as the bronze basin, which measures 6-1/4 by 8-1/4 inches, are included in the exhibition. The Meroitic jewelry is notable for its high standard of workmanship, combining Pharaonic techniques of gold fusing and cloisonné inlay work with early glass enamel techniques newly introduced at the time. Also evident are contemporary Greek influences, which may have originated from Greek craftsmen employed by the rulers of Meroe, or from imported objects such as the two beautiful Greek cameos in the treasure. To broaden its presentation of the ancient culture ofMeroe, the Metropolitan's exhibition is augmented by roughly a half-dozen pieces of Meroitic , relief, and jewelry from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, including jewelry from the burial of a court lady, an offering table inscribed with texts in the still enigmatic Meroitic language, and a head from a nearly life- size statue of Amanitore, successor of Queen Amanishakheto. This head was excavated by the great American archaeologist George A. Reisner at Gebel Barkal, then shipped to Boston among other objects allotted to the Museum of Fine Arts by the Sudanese authorities. The sculpture was still in its 1916 wrapping when a team of museum volunteers rediscovered it in the Boston storerooms in 1989. Also included, from the Berlin museum, are two relief slabs from Amanishakheto's pyramid chapel showing her head and hieroglyphic name, as well as an architectural lintel that was found in the ruins of the lion temple at Musawwarat es-Sufra, an important inland temple site in the pastoral Butana steppe. The exhibition will inaugurate a new Special Exhibition Gallery for Egyptian Art at the Metropolitan Museum, located in the Lila Acheson Wallace Galleries of Egyptian Art opposite the entrance to the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. Opened in 1911, the gallery space was devoted to the display of large Egyptian sculpture until the mid 1950s, when it was used for the temporary exhibition of the circular panorama, John Vanderlyn's The Palace and Gardens of Versailles. 1818-1819. Beginning in 1958 it housed the Metropolitan's famous collection of Egyptian jewelry. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s and until 1992, the gallery was used as a storeroom. Occupying 2,000 square feet, and newly designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, the Special Exhibition Gallery features a recessed lighting system that utilizes a minimal number of fixtures to achieve a maximum amount of general illumination to brighten and visually enlarge the room. Egress is through the Old Kingdom Galleries. Funding for the -MORE- THE GOLD OF MEROE PAGE 4 renovation was provided by the Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation, Inc. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Metropolitan Museum is offering twice-weekly overview slide talks, gallery talks, a special family guide, and programs for families throughout the duration of the exhibition. In addition, the Museum has scheduled a six-part lecture series on the rulers, the language, the religion and the jewelry of Meroe, conducted by leading American and European scholars. There also will be school tours and a special class for junior high school students. A 50-page soft-cover booklet with 47 color illustrations, published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and printed by Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz ($16.95), accompanies the exhibition. Written by Karl-Heinz Priese, and translated into English by Russell Stockman, the publication is made possible by Russell L. and Judith M. Carson. After its showing in Berlin, the exhibition traveled to museums in northern Germany and Bavaria. Following its conclusion at the Metropolitan Museum, the exhibition will be on view at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto from April 29 through September 5, 1994. The Gold ofMeroe is organized at the Metropolitan Museum by Dorothea Arnold, Lila Acheson Wallace Curator-in-Charge, Department of Egyptian Art. Exhibition design is by Jeffrey L. Daly, Chief Museum Designer, with graphics by Barbara Weiss, Museum Graphic Designer, and lighting by Zack Zanolli, Museum Lighting Designer.

# # # THE GOLD OF MEROE

The Metropolitan Museum of Art November 23, 1993-April 3, 1994

In an ancient kingdom that flourished on the Upper Nile, a Nubian queen ruled around 40-20 B.C. Her tomb treasure—a hoard of precious jewelry-lay undisturbed from her death until 1834, when an Italian physician/excavator found it in a large bronze basin that had been sealed into a hidden chamber of the queen's pyramid. One of the most remarkable discoveries in the ancient valley of the Nile, this treasure comprises some 200 pieces of gold and silver jewelry set with semi-precious stones, colored glass, and early glass enamel.

Upon its discovery, this treasure from the kingdom of Meroe was divided between the royal collections of Bavaria and Prussia; with the reunification of Germany, it has been brought together again. This is the first exhibition of the material outside of Germany.

Programs are free with Museum admission unless otherwise noted.

OVERVIEW The Gold of Meroe LECTURES Every Thursday and Saturday at 3:00 * Talks presented by Diana Patch and Phyllis Saretta Uris Center Auditorium No tickets necessary (* No lectures Dec. 23, 25, 30, Jan. 1, Feb. 26, Mar. 19)

LECTURES Gold of Meroe and Twenty Years of Dendur: Reuniting a Treasure: Jewelry of a Meroitic Queen and The Berlin Museums Dietrich Wildung, Director, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbestiz, Berlin Worshipping Isis: The Iseum in Rome Sylvia Schoske, Director, Staatliche Sammlung Ägyptischer Kunst, Munich Sunday, November 28, 3:00 Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

The Pyramids of the Sudan Timothy Kendall, Associate Curator, Department of Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Sunday, December 5, 3:00 Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium Who Were the Egyptians? The Queens of Meroe David O'Connor, Curator, Egyptian Section, University Museum, William Adams, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky Saturday, December 18, 10:00 Sunday, December 12, 3:00 Uris Center Auditorium Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium Sign-language interpreted

Land of Silence: The Riddle of the Language of Meroe FAMILY PROGRAMS A First Look: Egyptian Gold Janice Yellin, Associate Professor of Art History, Babson College Museum visitors ages 6-12 and accompanying adults will explore this Friday, January 7, 6:00 exhibition through discussion, sketching, and art projects. Uris Center Auditorium Drop in. No reservations necessary. Tickets free with Museum admission; available at 5:00 Saturday, March 12, 11:00-12:30 or 2:30-4:00 Sunday, March 13, 11:00-12:30 Enameled Gold Jewelry from Meroe: New Light in the Shadow of Egypt Uris Center for Education, tiered seating area. Richard Stone, Conservator, Objects Conservation Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Friday, February 18, 6:00 Uris Center Auditorium GUIDE FOR A free printed student guide to the exhibition is available at the Museum's Tickets free with Museum admission; available at 5:00 STUDENTS Information Desks.

Amun and Apedemak: The Gods of Meroe Karl-Heinz Priese, Director, Ägyptisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin OFFSITE We would be pleased to send a Museum lecturer to your library, college, or Friday, March 25, 6:00 PROGRAMS community organization to present a slide lecture about this exhibition. A Uris Center Auditorium fee will be charged. A sign-language interpreter may be requested. Tickets free with Museum admission; available at 5:00

SERVICES FOR The Museum is committed to serving all audiences. Please call us about GALLERY TALKS Meet at the Tour Board Kiosk in the Great Hall. DISABLED VISITORS services, including sign-language interpreted programs, sound-enhancement Talks presented by Barbara Porter systems (available in both auditoriums), The Touch Collection, and other programs. Friday, December 3 at 3:00 Voice: (212) 879-5500, ext. 3561 Wednesday, December 29 at 3:00 TTY: (212) 570-3828 Friday, January 7 at 11:00 Saturday, February 5 at 11:00

URIS LIBRARY AND All readers are welcome to explore the Uris Library and Resource Center, RESOURCE CENTER open during Museum hours. Visitors may consult the catalogue, books, and OF RELATED The Museum is presenting a twelve-part Saturday morning lecture series reference materials. INTEREST exploring the richly varied artistic traditions of the African continent. Lectures are free with Museum admission. Of contextual interest to this exhibition: CATALOGUE The exhibition catalogue is available in the Museum bookshop. The Art of Nubia William Adams, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky Saturday, December 11, 10:00 Uris Center Auditorium The exhibition is made possible by the Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation, Inc.