187D1970 The Metropolitan FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Museum of Art New York, N.Y. 10028 212 879 5500 FACT SHEET: THE TEMPLE OF DENDUR IN THE SACKLER WING

Public Opening: Wednesday, September 27, 1978

Press Preview: Friday, September 15, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon

Opening Ceremonies Monday, September 18 (Details to be announced)

Location: North end of the Museum at 84th Street and Fifth Avenue. (Enter at 82nd Street, main entrance. Proceed north from the Great Hall through the Coptic, Roman, Ptolemaic and 30th Dynasty gal­ leries into The Sackler Wing.)

Related Publications: Dendur Builetin/Picture Book (Fall 1978) Egyptian Time-Line Poster, postcards, Slide/Tape Cassette, Audioguide.

Related Activities: Mobil Late Evening Openings: A generous grant from Mobil Oil will give the public an extended opportunity to view the Temple of Dendur on Thursday evenings from 5:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. beginning September 28 and continuing on Thursday evenings through November 16. The dates are: September 28, October 5, 12, 19, 26, November 2, 9, and 16.

Borough Evenings: Five evenings have been set aside for special visits by the citizens from the five boroughs of to view the Temple of Dendur. Organized by the Metropolitan's Department of Community Programs, the local borough arts coun­ cils and museums, the evenings have been schedul­ ed as follows, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.: September 27, the Bronx; October 4, Staten Island: October 25, Manhattan; November 1, Queens; November 8, Brooklyn.

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Lectures: A series of three lectures has been scheduled in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium on Tues­ day evenings at 6:00 p.m. (Series admission $9.00): October 17: Christine Lilyquist, Curator of the Metropolitan's Department of Egyptian Art. October 24: Bruce Trigger, Professor of Anthro­ pology, McGill University. October 31: Eric Winter, Professor of Egyptology, University of Trier.

Concert: November 18, 8:00 p.m. Hamza El Din in a con­ cert of songs and instrumental pieces from the classical and folk music of . $8.00.

Introduction: The Temple of Dendur is one of the ancient monuments of the that would have been flood­ ed in the 300-mile-long lake formed behind the High Dam. The Temple was a gift to the United States from the Arab Republic of (March 1965) in recognition of America's contri­ bution of $16 million to UNESCO's international campaign to save the Nubian monuments. A five- man commission appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson recommended unanimously in 1967 that the Temple be awarded to the Metropolitan Museum based on its ability: 1) to create an environ­ ment appropriate to the Temple's archaeological character; 2) to bear the cost of dismantling, transporting and reconstructing it; 3) to provide adequate preservation facilities and atmospheric conditions; 4) to provide availability to a wide public; and 5) to relate the Temple to an im­ portant collection of Egyptian antiquities. Den­ dur is the only complete in the Western Hemisphere. Other shrines saved from the Aswan flooding were given to , Holland and .

The Temple has been carefully reassembled as it appeared on the banks of the Nile, in a modern simulation of the entire temple site with a reflecting pool representing the Nile, a wharf, courts, foundation walls and a hillside of stone. Documentation for this site came from comparable monuments and from 19th-century accounts and depictions. A great glass enclosure (The Sackler Wing) has been built around this installation

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so that the visitor can look out over Central Park, and at night strollers passing by can look from the Park into the illuminated Temple display. Most of the light on the Temple is natural light, showing to best advantage the still-crisp, sunk- relief carvings.

The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing adds an imposing full-scale environment to the Museum's fine Egyptian art collection.

THE TEMPLE OF DENDUR History of the Temple Building:

The village of Dendur was located on the west bank of the Nile about 50 miles south of Aswan in Lower Nubia, an area stretching along the Nile for about 200 miles between the first and second cataracts. The region had been in­ habited from earliest times by tribes periodical­ ly employed by the ancient Egyptians as mercenary troops and police. At the end of the first century B.C., the area was in the hands of local tribes who had, like the Egyptians, been conquered by the Romans.

The Temple of Dendur was probably preceded by a rock-hewn shrine dedicated to two young brothers, Pedesi and Pihor, the sons of a local chieftain, Kuper, whom Rome had selected to act as tyrant over Lower Nubia. Pedesi and Pihor had drowned in the Nile and because common religious custom at that time (first century B.C.) deified those who drowned in the Sacred River, a shrine was cut into the rock on the river at the spot where the brothers' bodies had washed ashore.

The present Temple building was built by the Emperor around 15 B.C. during the Roman occupation of Egypt and Lower Nubia. It is likely that he was honoring the brothers partly as a means of consolidating his hold on the tribes of the area.

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It is uncertain just how long the Temple was in active use, but in the sixth century, A.D., the building was converted into a Coptic church to serve the recently-Christianized area. An inscription (dated 577 A.D.) carved inside the southern door of the pronaos (first room on entering the Temple), marks its consecration by the Bishop of Philae. Cuts in the facade and exterior walls of the Temple show that vaulted rooms were added to it at this time and plaster covered up the carvings.

Similarly, there is no indication of the length of time the Temple remained a Christian church. However, inscriptions on the facade of the Temple and the west wall of the pronaos seem to belong to Arab travelers of the eighth to twelfth centuries A.D. The Temple eventually lost its paving, its roofing blocks and the screen walls in the facade, but stood essentially unchanged from the time of its Coptic conversion. Although numerous graffiti of later travelers cover the gateway facade and pronaos, the Temple remained thus a vestige of ancient times as well as a record of people who had visited it in their travels and studied it at a leisurely pace.

Between 1891 and 1902, a dam, built at Aswan to help regulate the yearly innundation of the Nile, caused the level of the water to reach the doors ill of the Temple . The dam was raised several times between 1902 and 1934 and from that time until Dendur was dismantled in 1962, some portion of the Temple was underwater for nine months each year. Indeed, at the high point of the flood, it was completely submerged.

Description of the Temple Building:

Although for the most part the Nubians main­ tained separate political and cultural identity from their powerful northern neighbor, they did from time to time adopt Egyptian cultural and religious traits. Indeed, the Temple of Dendur is a simplified version of the standard Egyptian cult temple which in form had remained virtually unchanged for three thousand years. It is thus one of the latest examples of Egyptian archi­ tecture, iconography and relief styles.

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The monument consists of a gateway and a temple with two richly decorated floral columns on the facade. Beyond the Temple facade are three rooms: pronaos, antechamber and sanctuary. The Temple and gateway are made of Aeolian sandstone (quarried just north of the site), an extremely friable, permeable stone which is particularly susceptible to disintegration. The pink color of the stone has been caused by wind and sand erosion.

All of the wall decorations, including inscriptions, are in crisp and well-preserved relief, and appear on the front, back and inside of the gateway, on the facade and sides of the Temple, on the walls of the pronaos, on the doorway of the antechamber and doorway and end wall of the sanctuary. The reliefs show King Augustus giving offerings to more than 20 dif­ ferent divinities, including the two drowned brothers, Pedesi and Pihor. The interior dec­ orations are in raised relief presumably to catch the diffused sunlight on the inside of the building. The relief on the exterior is incised, to catch the strong, direct sunlight. The in­ terior decorations are all easily seen from the exterior of the Temple.

Dimensions: Overall length of both gateway and Temple- 82 ft.

Distance between gateway and Temple-- 30 ft. Gateway: Depth 11 ft. Width -- 12 ft. Height 26% ft. Temple: Length ~~ 41 ft. Width 21 ft. Height 21 ft.

Wharf: Length 135 ft. Width • _ 85 ft.

Reflecting Pool: Length 102 ft. (front) Width 32 ft. Depth __ xh ft. (2 side exten­ Length 45 ft. sions, each) Width -- 7 ft. Depth 1% ft.

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Reconstruetion: In 1962, two Egyptian architects and four masons dismantled the Temple into 642 numbered blocks which were then packed into crates and stored on Elephantine Island in the Nile River where they awaited further decision. In May of 1968, the blocks were inspected, re-crated and in June were taken by barges down the Nile to Alexandria, where they passed through final customs and were loaded onto the Norwegian freighter, the S.S. Concordia Star, bound for New York.

The crated stones of the Temple of Dendur arrived in New York in August 1968. They were stored in the Museum's south parking lot in an air-supported structure until September 1974 when they were moved to the north end of the building where reconstruction began in a tempor­ ary steel enclosure. The reconstruction of the Temple was finished on July 15, 1975, and con­ struction was then begun on The Sackler Wing, a glass-enclosed, air-, humidity-, and dust- controlled structure.

Those Responsible for the Acquisition and Reinstallation of the Temple:

Thomas Hoving, former Director of the Metropoli­ tan Museum

Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metro­ politan Museum

Henry Fischer, former Curator of the Department of Egyptian Art, presently Lila Acheson Wallace Curator in Egyptology

Nora Scott, former Curator of the Department of Egyptian Art

Christine Lilyquist, Curator of the Department of Egyptian Art Eric Young, former Associate Curator of the Department of Egyptian Art

Virginia Burton, former Associate Curator of the Department of Egyptian Art

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(Those Responsible for the Acquisition and Reinstallation of the Temple: cont'd)

Arthur Rosenblatt, Vice President for Archi­ tecture and Planning of the Metropolitan Museum

Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, archi­ tects for The Sackler Wing

Brown Lawford and Forbes, architects for the reassembly of the Temple

A. Ottavino & Sons, stone masons for reassembly of the Temple

Rudolph de Harak Associates for exhibition graphics

Costs : $870,000 for the actual reassembly of the Temple, including the costs of temporary enclosures The total project cost of The Sackler Wing is $9,500,000

Funding: The donors whose generosity has made pos­ sible The Sackler Wing housing the Temple of Dendur are: Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, Dr. Mortimer B. Sackler and Dr. Raymond R. Sackler; the City of New York; The Dillon Fund; the Clarence and Anne Dillon Dunwalke Trust; Lila Acheson Wallace; the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; and the Martha Baird Rockefeller Bequest.

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The Temple of Dendur

Chronology

22 - 10 B.C.: Temple and gateway built by Caesar Augustus to honor two drowned brothers, Pedesi and Pihor.

577 A.D.: Temple converted into a Coptic church. 1737: First known European traveler to visit Dendur, Frederick Norden for the King of Denmark, produces first illustrated account.

1821: Luther Bradish of New York City, carves his name and date of his visit on the facade of the Temple. 1891 - 1902 : Construction of a Dam at Aswan brings flooding ten feet below doors ill of Temple.

Spring 1908 : Egyptian Antiquities Service consolidates Temple and site.

Winter 1909: A. Blackman, for the Egyptian Antiquities Service, records Temple.

1928 - 1934: Dam raised for second time, causing Temple to be completely flooded for part of each year. Water erosion causes last traces of original paint to be washed away.

1959: Egypt appeals to UNESCO to help save Nubian monuments that will be flooded by the construction of the High Dam at Aswan. Jan. 1960: Construction on Aswan High Dam begins. (Water began flowing into Lake Nasser on Oct. 15, 1967. High Dam dedicated Jan. 15, 1971). Sept. 1960: Temple recorded by Center of Documentation for and dismantling by Egyptian Antiquities Service begins. (Dismantling completed by Oct. 1962).

Mar. 1965 : Egyptian government offers Dendur to the United States at a UNESCO meeting in Paris in appreciation of American contribution to the efforts to save the Nubian monuments.

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Chronology cont'd

Apr. 1967: President Lyndon B. Johnson receives recommendation from 5-man commission to award Temple of Dendur to the Metropolitan Museum based on Museum's proposals for preserving and housing the monument and the fact that the Temple would be integrated into a major Egyptian art collection. Feb. 17, 1968: Stones packed and readied for shipment to New York City.

July 8, 1968: Stones leave Elephantine Island on four barges.

July 19, 1968: 660 crates weighing 640 tons loaded on Norweigian freighter S.S. Concordia Star leave Alexandria for New York City.

Aug. 21, 1968: Concordia Star docks in Brooklyn. Stones brought from Brooklyn to south end of Metropolitan Museum to be stored in air-supported structure awaiting reassembly.

Sept. 1974: Stones moved to north end of Museum where reconstruc­ tion of the Temple begins inside a temporary steel structure.

July 15, 1975: Reconstruction of Temple finished. Construction begins around completed Temple and gateway on new Sackler Wing.

Sept. 27, 1978: Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing opens to public.

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THE SACKLER WING

Introduction: The Sackler Wing houses the Temple of Dendur (its primary exhibition feature), The Sackler Gallery for Egyptian Art, the new Sackler Center for Far Eastern Studies and a major new exhibition gallery, The Sackler Exhibition Hall. The structure, a 200-foot-long by 165-foot-wide rectangle, is exposed on the north with an inclined 72-foot-high metal and glass curtain wall overlooking Central Park.

The Sackler Wing is located on the north end of the Museum and was especially designed to house the Arab Republic of Egypt's gift of the Temple of Dendur and the simulation of its ancient site.

In addition to the Temple of Dendur exhibition area, the main floor also houses the new Sackler Gallery for Egyptian Art which is immediately contiguous to the partially-completed Lila Acheson Wallace Galleries of Egyptian Art. On this same main floor level, but not accessible from the Temple exhibition area, is a new study gallery for the Department of Far Eastern Art.

The Sackler Center for Far Eastern Studies, which includes study galleries, departmental offices, library and seminar rooms, for scholars and staff, is located on a mezzanine floor.

The Sackler Exhibition Hall on the second floor immediately above the mezzanine floor runs the full 200-foot east-west length of The Sackler Wing and provides the public with an opportunity to view the Temple from above. The Sackler Exhibition Hall also connects the Museum's existing special exhibition galleries with the American Bicentennial Wing, presently under construction. The Sackler Exhibition Hall provides the Museum with its single largest special exhibition gallery.

Dimensions of Exhibition Areas:

Main floor, overall -- 200 ft (E-W) x 165 ft (N-S)

Temple of Dendur display 200 ft (E-W) x 120 ft (N-S)

The Sackler Gallery of 72 ft x 40 ft Egyptian Art

The Sackler Exhibition Hall 200 ft x 60 ft (Second floor)

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Construction of Sackler Wing Structure:

Foundation Substructure -- The Temple platform, reinforced concrete, rests above the recently-completed service entrance and employee parking garage. The service entrance includes three loading docks: one electric, one mechanical and one fixed loading dock. This substructure of the Wing was partially funded by $1.4 mil­ lion from the City of New York.

Foundation Superstructure -- Above the reinforced concrete upon which the Temple rests, was built a reinforced concrete enclosure with an inclined metal and glass curtain wall facing north and a contiguous skylight covering the entire Wing. This skylight, supported by 200-foot-long trusses, is 62 feet above the Temple floor. A hung ceiling is suspended below the skylight over the entire building area and is composed of hammered misco wire glass and aluminum framing. From the finished floor of the main floor exhibition gallery to the underside of this hung ceiling measures 48 feet. The Temple is surrounded by stonework and a pool to evoke its ancient setting. On the east is a reflecting pool holding 352,000 gallons of recirculating water simulating the Nile river. Beyond the pool is a dock 50 feet wide and 40 feet long, indicat­ ing where boats would have landed. Between the gateway and Temple is a paved court, and on either side of the Temple is a sloping "hillside." All stonework simulating the ancient setting is gray granite from Massachusetts.

The facade facing north is a curtain wall which is supported vertically by 10 steel, wide-flange mullions.

The Sackler Wing Enclosure:

North Curtain Wall -- Insulated, clear, tempered glass with aluminum framing.

Gallery Skylights -- Over the entire space of the galleries. Tempered insulating glass. Outer layer is reflective and the interior panel is transluscent sippled glass.

Air Outlets -- Tuttle and Bailey 6000 series strip-line diffuser for the entire length of the ceiling on the south wall overlooking the second floor Sackler Gallery and at the base of the north window curtain wall.

Lighting Tracks -- Modular grid above gallery ceilings to minimize costs of exhibition alterations and to provide flexibility of gallery subdivision,

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Gallery Walls -- Indiana limestone, standard buff, on east and west walls. Acoustic-treated dry wall on south.

Gallery Floors --

Temple floor -- concrete

Stonework surrounding Temple -- Mason granite

Sackler Gallery of Egyptian Art -- Stonycreek pink granite

Second floor Sackler Exhibition Hall -- wood floors and carpeting

Elevators -- A new passenger-freight elevator with 9000 pounds capacity will be provided in the existing Morgan Wing immediately adjacent to The Sackler Wing.

Air-Conditioning Systems — The air-conditioning system handles 125,000 cubic feet of air per minute with 300 tons of cooling and 9000 pounds of steam per hour for heating. Temperature and Humidity Controls -- The heating and cooling valves are controlled by return air thermostats. Humidifiers and de- humidifier cooling coils are controlled by return air humistats.

The Curtain Wall -- was developed in full-scale mock-up tests at a testing laboratory in Florida by Roche Dinkeloo.

Exterior Wall Construction -- Insulated exterior wall construction minimizing heating and cooling operations and maintaining the special interior climate.

Provisions for the Handicapped:

Access to every level via elevators and wheel-chair lifts.

Restroom Facilities:

Restrooms for The Sackler Wing will be located in the soon-to-be- completed contiguous American Wing.

Offices :

On mezzanine floor of Wing, offices for the Center for Far Eastern studies (Far Eastern Art Department), curatorial offices, seminar rooms, conference room, Departmental library, and temperature-and- humidity-controlled storerooms for Far Eastern art.

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Architects:

Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, Hamden Connecticut

For the Museum —

Arthur Rosenblatt, A.I.A., Vice President for Architecture and Planning

Arthur Klein, R.A., Supervising Architect for Construction

Consultants:

Structural Engineers -- Severud Associates

Mechanical and Electrical Engineers -- John Altieri

Landscape Architects -- Coffey and Levine

Seismologists — John V. Dinan Associates, Inc. Woodward-Clyde Consultants

Major Contractors:

General — Defoe Corp. All Building Construction Corp.

Electrical -- Charles Hyman

Plumbing — Wolff & Munier, Inc.

Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning — Stanley Rowland Co.

(End)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION and photographs please contact Jack Frizzelle of Berenice Heller, The Public Information Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, New York, N.Y, 10028. Tel: (212) 879-5500

August 1978