Egyptian halls in the Pushkin Museum. State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkina - Marina Vitushkina - LiveJournal. Mysteries of Egyptian Civilization

The Museum of Fine Arts was conceived as a guide to the study of history, so the transition from hall to hall was like a transition to a later era. And the first hall on this path was the Egyptian Museum Hall. Hall number one. The rest had to follow him in a "strict system, in the order of historical sequence" (from the note by IV Tsvetaev "University Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow")

The Egyptian Hall of the Museum was located and is now located on the first floor to the left of the vertibule and communicates with one of the entrances to the museum. This wing is, as it were, excluded from the central axis of the Museum: the vestibule, the staircase, the Central Hall, and therefore is not connected with them stylistically.

To attract donors, IV Tsvetaev came up with a "bait to help raise funds for the construction of the Museum." The Statute on the Committee stated that the persons who allocated money for the construction of this or that hall "received the right to apply for the assignment of any name to this hall." The Egyptian Hall is in a special position. At the meeting of the Committee for the Arrangement of the Museum on March 16, 1899, Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov was honored on the occasion of his 65th birthday. At this meeting, the Committee decided to assign the name of Nechaev-Maltsov to the Egyptian Hall of the Museum, built with the general funds of the Committee. However, already in a letter dated November 5, 1898, Tsvetaev wrote to Nechaev-Maltsov: "Before we thought about the Doric character of the lobby decoration, but now we are thinking about Egyptian: let it open up the history of art and lead to your hall." Perhaps this was facilitated by the fact that it was the package of Nechaev-Maltsov from Cairo that was the first contribution made to the Egyptian collection of the museum.

R. Klein and Nivinsky were engaged in the decoration of the Egyptian hall, but Ivan Vladimirovich could not ignore any corner of his museum.

"How nice it would be to imitate an ancient Egyptian pylon at the entrance to ... the hall, by laying it out of bricks or even decorative painting. Just as the pylons served as facades of Egyptian temples, so this pictorial or plaster pylon would lead into the first hall of the Museum. What a joy it would be to decorate. this hall is a couple of different types of Egyptian columns. " - he wrote to Nechaev-Maltsov.

And in 1909 he wrote to R. I. Klein: “The Egyptologist Golenishchev pointed out to me the just-published English edition of a grave with a ceiling in colors from Korshuns, personifying the sun. It will be effective and true. We will put them on beams, and between them we will dot the squares only with stars, signs of the zodiac, but not pictures of an everyday nature, which do not go to the ceiling (“heaven”). "

with papyrus columns, with kites on the ceiling ...

and with a unique collection in wardrobes

Before the foundation of the Museum, Tsvetaev was not in Egypt. For the first time, probably, this thought came to him while looking at the papyri, which were sent from Cairo by Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsev. But already in December 1908 Tsvetaev wrote: "I would like to visit the land of pyramids before my death." Just at this time he was sent an invitation to the II International Archaeological Congress in Cairo. He rejoices like a child. He writes humorous letters to NI Romanov in Athens: “... the whole of Egypt, they say, was clothed in mourning when the news spread through him that I had not arrived at the congress. But on the very next day, the building of the Congress was almost destroyed when the population of Cairo learned about my appearance under the Egyptian sky. " and "Mospero, in order to calm the Arab crowds and satisfy the curiosity of delegates from all over the world, has appointed my conference in a quarter of an hour after my arrival." Tsvetaev is happy with such attention and modestly describes his rhetorical successes: “The Demosthenes techniques of making a speech to the lapping of the sea waves came in handy here, which I indulged in at my leisure in the cabin of the steamer, sitting at the hatch on the berth. Thus, I adapted my speech to my clumsy, Vladimir seminary lingua - and the matter went away with such a triumph that the windows almost burst and the ceiling of the hall did not collapse from applause. "

The hall was ready by December 1911, and Tsvetaev wrote a letter to Professor BA Turaev: "I respectfully ask you, if you find it possible, to take over the duties of the head of the Egyptian hall on January 2 next year." BA Turaev agrees and soon Tsvetaev receives a letter from MV Nikolsky: “I am heartily glad that you managed to attract to the Museum a highly respected friend of mine, Professor BA Turaev, to manage the collection of VS Golenishchev. This is truly happiness sent down by fate. "

Of course, we will not cover everything at once, standing in the middle of the Egyptian Museum Hall. It is necessary to return to museums, they do not like fuss, but they respond to attention and patience. Therefore, we will learn about V.S. Golenishchev and his collection, about B.A. Turaev, and much more when we return to the most mysterious hall of the Museum of Fine Arts.

For a long time I was going to talk about my, perhaps, the most beloved Moscow museum - the State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin. We'll have to split the post into two parts, a very large and interesting museum.




PART 1

Do not expect to go around the entire State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin in one visit. It's almost impossible. Is it just a run, glancing at the rich exhibits on two floors in 30 halls!
Therefore, I propose to quickly "run" through the halls of the museum with me right now, and thoroughly familiarize yourself with it for everyone independently and preferably in a few visits!
Quite a bit about the history of the museum. The laying ceremony of the Museum took place on August 17, 1898. The Museum of Fine Arts named after Emperor Alexander III at the Moscow Imperial University received its first visitors on May 31, 1912.

As usual in those glorious years, the museum was built with donations from benefactors. Most of the money was contributed by the great Russian philanthropist Yuri Stepanovich Nechaev-Maltsov.
Museum founder Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev (1847 - 1913) - Russian scientist-historian, archaeologist, philologist and art critic, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, professor at Moscow University (father of Marina Tsvetaeva).

So, go ahead, on the 1st floor!

Hall 1. ART OF ANCIENT EGYPT. IV-I millennium BC

The richest collection of ancient Egyptian art, presented in the exposition of this hall, acquaints with the stages of development of Egyptian culture, from the pre-dynastic period (IV millennium BC) to the time of the New Kingdom (XVII-XII centuries BC). The architecture of the hall reproduces the characteristic features of the temple architecture of the 2nd millennium BC. The ceiling paintings made by the artist I. I. Nivinsky in 1912 represent a free variation on the theme of the decoration of the funeral temples and tombs.

Statue of Amenemhat III. Middle Kingdom, Dynasty XII, mid - late 19th century BC

Sarcophagus of the grandee Mahu. New kingdom, XVIII dynasty, XIV century BC.

Statue of the god Anubis. New kingdom, 2nd millennium BC

These "little notes" are more than 4000 years old !!!

Hall 2. ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS (Mesopotamia, Urartu, Iran, Cyprus, Parthia, India, America)

The exposition of this hall acquaints with the art of the ancient peoples who inhabited Asia Minor, the Mediterranean, the Indian Peninsula and Latin America. In the decoration of the hall, motives of the paintings of the palaces of the Assyrian kings were used: the gatekeepers "demons" and reliefs from the royal palaces (casts). In the center of the hall, on a pedestal, stand the original vessels of Urartu, an ancient state (present-day territory of Armenia).

Showcases display authentic objects of ancient civilizations.
Peru. Recuai culture. 1st millennium A.D. The figure of a warrior-priest. Our Vanka-vstanka reminds

Scythians. VII-V century BC Clay wagon (possibly a toy).

Four-armed Vishnu with attributes in his hands: a club, a wheel, a shell and a lotus.
Sandstone, IX century AD Gift of Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India.

Relief depicting a winged spirit in a blessing pose.
Cast. Original IX century BC is in the British Museum, London.
To work on the casts of I.V. Tsvetaev in different years attracted famous Russian scientists and outstanding artists. Plaster casts and electroplated copies were ordered in 1890-1911 from famous European workshops.

Hall 3. TREASURES OF TROY

A collection of 259 items from the treasures discovered by Heinrich Schliemann during the excavations of Troy in 1871-1890 is kept at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin since 1945. The collection was transferred to the Soviet Union along with other art treasures by the decision of the Soviet Control Commission as partial compensation for damage caused by the Nazis.

Hall 4. ART OF THE ANCIENT WORLD (Cyprus, Ancient Greece, Etruria, Ancient Rome)

The collection of antique originals is one of the earliest in the collection of the Pushkin Museum. The first ancient Greek vases and terracotta were purchased for the Cabinet of Fine Arts of Moscow University in the 1850s and 60s. Today, the collection contains more than ten thousand originals dating back to the period from the 3rd millennium BC. to IV century A.D. More than half of them were found by expeditions of the Pushkin Museum in the course of archaeological excavations.

In four sections of the hall - Cyprus, Ancient Greece, Etruria, Ancient Rome - are presented the monuments of the main artistic regions and centers of the ancient Mediterranean.
Central to the section of the art of Ancient Rome is the sarcophagus with Dionysian scenes (circa 210), one of the most famous pieces of the Museum's collection.

The torso of a naked Dionysus with a sword and a vine of grapes. First half of the 2nd century, marble.

Hall 5. ART OF THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA

The exposition is based on materials found by expeditions of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin in the south of Russia and in the Crimea.

A portrait statue of a ruler from Gorgippia. Marble, 80s II century
Found in 1939-1940. in Anapa (antique Gorgippia).

Room 6. COPTIC AND HELINISTIC ART

In the first centuries of our era, the Christian religion began to spread in Egypt. Egyptian Christians were called Copts.
The hall presents the art and culture of Egypt after the campaigns of Alexander the Great, when Egyptian art absorbs the features of the art of the Greeks ("Hellenes"). Most of the exhibits are associated with the funeral cult - sarcophagi, burial sheets and masks. In the center of the hall is a showcase with Egyptian sarcophagi and mummies of the 6th-1st centuries BC.

Of particular interest is the collection of 16 Fayum portraits made in the most complex technique of wax paints.
Portrait of a woman, second half of the 2nd century

Mummy masks, 2nd century.

Hall 7. BYZANTIC ART OF THE XIV-XVI CENTURIES. ITALIAN ART VIII-XVI centuries

Byzantine painting is represented mainly by monuments from the 14th century. Among the world-class masterpieces is the icon "Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles", which is exceptional in terms of subtlety of execution.

The collection of Italian art is one of the best in the collection of the Pushkin Museum.

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio. Portrait of a young man in the image of St. Sebastian. End of the 1490s.

Giulio Pippi. The lady behind the toilet. Early 1520s.

Room 8. ART OF GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS of the 15th - 16th centuries

The art of the Northern Renaissance is presented for the first time in a separate room. These are six boards by Lucas Cranach the Elder, "The Flagellation of Christ" by the greatest Munster master Johann Körbeke, "Annunciation" by the Master from Hoogstraten, etc.
The collection of German art of the 15th century of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts is the best in Russia in terms of the number and quality of works.
Also here is a section of the art of the Netherlands.

Room 9. Flemish Art of the 17th century.

The Flanders Painting Hall provides a holistic view of the Flemish school. Along with the brightest names such as Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, Snyders, the number of exhibited paintings of which has increased, primarily due to large-format canvases, in the hall you can now see the works of their students and contemporaries (about two dozen new canvases).

Room 10. Rembrandt and the masters of his school.

For the first time, six paintings by Rembrandt, as well as the works of his students and followers, are shown as an independent section.

Room 11. Dutch painting of the 17th century.

Pictures of the Dutch school of the 17th century constitute one of the most numerous and attractive sections of the Pushkin Museum's exposition. In the face of heavy dependence on market competition, Dutch artists focused on one or more genres in which they felt most confident. Some preferred to paint pictures on religious and mythological subjects (works by Hendrik Goltzius, Gerrit van Honthorst, Nicholas Berchem), others - landscapes, and still others - genre scenes and still lifes.

Hall 14. GREEK YARD. Art of Ancient Greece. 2nd half of 5th - early 4th century BC Casts.

One of the most beautiful halls of the museum. The complex organization of movement on three levels of the floor made it possible to convey with amazing accuracy the free picturesqueness of the Athenian Acropolis ensemble.

Hall 15. ITALIAN YARD. Art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Casts.

The Italian courtyard is built as a reduced repetition of the courtyard of the Palazzo Bargelo: a corner staircase leading to the second floor, small columns with vegetable capitals supporting the balcony, a light arcade, a well in the center. The accuracy of the choice of the architectural prototype made it possible to combine the samples of classical art of the German Middle Ages with the works of renowned Italian sculptors of the Renaissance in the exhibition hall.

What are the gods with the heads of beasts worth ?! It is quite easy to touch this ancient and mysterious culture in the modern metropolis, at our service are halls with laconic names "The Art of Ancient Egypt" and "Hellenistic and Roman Egypt, Coptic Art", numbers 1 and 6, respectively. In order to preserve the freshness of perception, we advise you to take the scheme of the museum or ask the way from local ministers, believe me, it's worth it.

Here, even the room itself is stylized to resemble Ancient Egypt: "reed" columns, paintings on the ceiling, patterned floor. Among the exhibits there are originals from 4 thousand BC, such antiquity is breathtaking! In the halls of the museum you can see statues, reliefs, mummies of people and animals, household items, amulets, vessels and jewelry. In addition to figurines and sarcophagi, the model of a funeral boat and a cosmetic spoon in the form of a floating girl are impressive, and of course papyri (for example, an excerpt from the Book of the Dead). From the more “modern”, magnificent Coptic fabrics and masks, all of the finest workmanship and admirable. Meanwhile, imbued with exoticism, we continue our walk!

The collection of Egyptian originals came to the museum from the St. Petersburg academician Vladimir Semyonovich Golenishchev. V.S. Golenishchev was a scientist, archaeologist, he traveled to Egypt with an expedition from the State Hermitage and served as a supervisor of the work. In parallel, he collected a collection for himself. The St. Petersburg collection was collected during excavations, so its items are accurately dated, attributed and tied to a particular tomb. And for himself, V.S. Golenishchev bought items on the "black market". Therefore, they were neither attributed nor dated. Later, scientists determined the age of the monuments and belonging to a particular tomb by parallels with other similar artifacts.

In 1909, Golenishchev went bankrupt and was forced to sell his collection. But, despite the lucrative offers from different countries, the scientist wanted his collection to remain in Russia, so he sold it for a smaller amount to the imperial treasury. Moreover, the first half of the amount was paid to him immediately, the second was promised to be paid later, but they never paid off the scientist, as is usual in Russia.

They decided to send the collection to Moscow, because the Hermitage already had a collection of Egyptian art. As a result, the Moscow collection turned out to be even better than the one exhibited in the Hermitage. It is smaller in number of items, but their quality is much higher. After all, V.S. Golenishchev tried to ensure that every epoch, every phenomenon in Egyptian culture, were represented by some object. That is why, although the collection of Egyptian antiquities in the Pushkin Museum is more compact, it is better than the collection of the Hermitage. It is currently the best collection of Egyptian art in Russia. And it became the first collection of originals in the museum.

Hall No. 1, where the monuments of Ancient Egypt are now exhibited, was specially rebuilt for the collection of V.S. Golenishchev. His collection ended up in the museum while it was still under construction.

The ceiling is supported by columns in the ancient Egyptian style, imitating bundles of papyrus. The entire architecture of the hall goes back to one of the halls of the ancient Egyptian temple. To imagine the setting of the ancient sanctuary, Roman Ivanovich Klein traveled to Egypt, visited and examined the temples. In particular, he drew attention to the temple of Amun in Luxor and primarily focused on it. The windows were curtained, because the hall of the Egyptian temple did not assume natural light. Above, on the ceiling, there is a repeated image of a bird with outstretched wings, this is the image of the sky goddess Nut.


The ceiling is also painted under the starry sky.

One of the halls of the Egyptian temple actually reproduced nature on the banks of the Nile, a mountain of royal papyri.
IV Tsvetaev specifically asked RI Klein to make a hall in this style so that the visitor not only looked at individual items, but also imbued with the atmosphere of Ancient Egypt. In addition, initially the museum was planned as an educational one and its purpose was to give students an idea not only of painting, sculpture and small plastic arts, but also of architecture.

About collection... The re-exhibition in the hall took place several years ago, in 2012. Some of the monuments ended up in the funds, others, on the contrary, were exhibited. Currently, about a third of the existing collection is represented, that is, most of the Egyptian antiquities are in storage.

MONUMENTS
Sarcophagus and mummy Hor-Ha. It is curious that this mummy cannot be photographed in any way, X-rays are never obtained. The mummy “does not want” to reveal its secrets. This is the mummy of the priest Hor-Ha, he died in the 2nd millennium BC.

The mummy is in a horizontal display case to the right of the entrance to the hall

How did the Egyptians embalm the mummy? There are many recipes and they all, in fact, boil down to the same technology: an incision was made in the side of a dead body. The ego was made by a specially trained person who was called a "parashist" (ripper). The body of a deceased person was considered sacred and therefore, a parashist, on the one hand, was hired by the relatives of the deceased and paid him money for making an incision on his side. On the other hand, as soon as the parachist made an incision, he ran away as fast as he could. The people who had hired him now ran after him and threw stones at him for committing such a sacrilege.

Then, through the incision, the entrails were taken out, washed, placed in special vessels filled with embalming substances. Such vessels are in the museum's collection; they are located in a vertical display case behind the Khor-Ha mummy, in the corner, almost opposite the entrance to the hall).


All cavities in the body were also filled with embalming agents. The body was placed in natron, a kind of soda. Natron pulled all moisture from the body and the mummification process began. The body was dried up, so it could no longer decay. He was wrapped in linen bandages and placed in a sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus of the priest Hor-Ha is not the best and not the most beautiful in the collection. The best one is the Mahu sarcophagus.

Sarcophagus to Mahu.

It repeats the shape of a mummy, the tomb narrows towards the feet. A mask was always placed on the sarcophagus, which was supposed to indicate the face of the deceased. It is to designate, not to depict. Because regardless of who was buried - an old man, a girl, a woman, a man young or old - the mask was always the same. The face of the mask was painted with wide eyes, highlighted with black or dark blue paint.

The Egyptians believed that when the soul rejoins the body, it must enter the sarcophagus through the eyes. For this, the body was preserved, mummified.

The sarcophagus of Mahu is a brilliant example of ancient Egyptian art. It is made of wood, this material was highly valued in Ancient Egypt, there was not much wood. The black color of the sarcophagus emphasizes the shine of the gilding. Gilding, subtlety of elaboration of details testifies to the fact that this is a sarcophagus of a very rich man, made by the best craftsmen.

Undoubtedly, the best Egyptian craftsmen also made wooden statues of Amenhotep and his wife Rannai. These figures, on the one hand, combine the traditions of Egyptian art.

Amenhotep and his wife, "the singer of Amun", Rannai are priests of the temple of the sun god.

The Egyptians have always depicted people in a frozen wide stride pose with straight legs. This is not entirely life-like, because while walking, the knees bend. Here the legs are straight, arms are extended along the body and pressed against it. Rannai's left arm is bent at the elbow and also pressed to the body. The rule is combined here with a very subtle psychologism. The figure of the man is tall, he is broad-shouldered. He walks confidently, his head held high and open. He is a priest, so he does not wear a wig and his hair does not darken his face, it is brightly lit. He turns his head slightly to the left. He seems to resist the rule that the person being portrayed had to look straight ahead. The figure of his wife is slender, fragile, she minces finely with her legs in her narrow dress, in contrast to the wide step of her husband. Her face is slightly lowered, the shadow of her hair falls on her face. On the right side, the hair was not preserved, but it was there too. A dreamy, enigmatic expression appears on the woman's face. This is how the Egyptians envisioned the ideal man and the ideal woman. A man is strong and decisive, a woman is fragile, delicate, mysterious. And that's the beauty of Egyptian art. On the one hand, it has strict rules, on the other, within these rules there can be a very subtle and refined psychological characteristic.

In addition to wood, the Egyptians were very fond of ivory, and even more - stone.
Cosmetic spoon. The masterpiece of the museum is a small bone spoon, known all over the world. This is the finest ivory work. The spoon is for cosmetics.

It is a box for storing cosmetics, it can be opened. The box is made in the form of a floating girl with a lotus flower in her hands. In addition to painted and unpainted ivory, a beech tree is used here; a girl's wig is made of this material. Such a delicate, graceful thing, perhaps, was used in the everyday life of rich people, and perhaps it was ritual. It comes, of course, from the tomb.

A feature of ancient Egyptian culture in the form in which it came down to us is that objects do not come from houses or from palaces, but from tombs. This is the best thing that the Egyptians wanted to take with them to the afterlife.

It also shows the Middle Kingdom era in Egyptian art. The name suggests that this is the middle of the existence of the ancient Egyptian kingdom - the 2nd millennium BC. At this time, special attention in Egyptian art is paid to portrait images.

The sculptures of Amenemhat III are interesting because there are a lot of them.

Pharaoh ruled long enough, he founded the Fayum oasis in Egypt. He was depicted several times, at different ages, his image can be found in different museums - in Berlin, in the Hermitage. From his portraits, one can observe how the appearance of the pharaoh changed with age. In the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Amenemhat III is represented not as an old man, but also not as a young man. If you look closely, you can see bags under the eyes, heavy, drooping eyelids, wrinkled lips, that is, the pharaoh is far from young. But his head is attached to the body of a young and strong youth, since the pharaoh in Ancient Egypt was considered a god and the personification of Egypt and always had to be portrayed as strong and young. Therefore, here, on the one hand, there is a portrait image, and on the other, the deification of the pharaoh, represented in the body of a young and strong youth, who is no different from the gods.

This is where the conversation about Egyptian art can be ended, we saw the masterpieces of the hall. If you have time, you can show relief of the chief of the treasury, Isi. ( Relief. Limestone. Mid-3rd millennium BC NS.)

There are several relief images of the treasurer of Pharaoh Isi. It should be emphasized that when depicting a person, the Egyptians used strict rules. The shoulders of a person are deployed to the front, the head has a complex turn. In reality, it is completely impossible to roll the eye the way it is depicted. The person looks directly at us, that is, the eye is depicted face-to-face, while the head is turned in profile. Such an image showed that the depicted person is alive, that he is capable of movement.

When the Egyptians depicted a mummy, not a living body, then in compositions dedicated to burial, the mummy was depicted either strictly in the face, or strictly in profile. The complex image of the treasurer Ishi emphasized that the person is alive, therefore, different points of view were collected. What is considered unrealistic for us, from their point of view, was perfect realism, an indication that this is a living person.

A. VENEDIKTOV: It is already 10:17 in Moscow, and literally in 2 minutes we will have the Museum Chambers. And our guest will be Olga Vasilieva, head of the department of ancient Egypt at the Pushkin Museum. Let's talk about mummies, scarabs, and pyramids, and what actually is in this room. While I would like to play books with you, too, as before, but now on ancient Egypt. And my question will be this. What a sacred and beloved animal was widespread in Egypt. It was not only sacred, because crocodiles were also sacred, as you know. But speaking about the sacred and beloved animal, which was widespread in Egypt, you can tell me about it by sending me an SMS at + 7-985-970-45-45. And we are playing the books by Dmitry Meeks, and Christine Favar-Meeks "The Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods." It turns out that the Egyptian gods also had a daily life. 10 copies, Molodaya Gvardiya publishing house, 2008. So, "The Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods." What a sacred and beloved animal was widespread in Egypt. + 7-985-970-45-45. And I remind you that today is still the day of memory of Vladimir Vysotsky.

A. VENEDIKTOV: You are listening to the Museum Chambers. Olga Vasilieva, Head of the Department of Ancient Egypt of the Pushkin Museum, is our guest. Good morning.

O. VASILIEVA: Good morning, hello.

A. VENEDIKTOV: First question, what is your favorite exhibit in the Museum of Ancient Egypt?

O. VASILIEVA: You know, my favorite exhibit is those statuettes that meet us at the entrance to the hall, unique wooden figurines of the priest Amenhotep and his wife Rannai. Amazing things, and really unique, because there are very few of them in the world. And I am very glad that our museum also has such things.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Where did they come from?

O. VASILIEVA: They were found in a cache in the Karnak temple - this is a huge cache where all sorts of figurines were literally dumped, and other, fragments of limestone, written documents were found, including these paired figurines.

A. VENEDIKTOV: What do you mean dumped? Are they dumping into hiding places?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, because for the sake of safety. The fact is that these figures are vative offerings, that is, offerings as a gift to the gods in order for these people to be present before God. It was the god Amon, the main god in the Karnak temple. But when there were a lot of such figurines, the priests tried to keep them from any encroachments, and such did happen, and they arranged such caches. But the safety of these hiding places was also violated, they were rummaged, unfortunately, and therefore, when archaeologists discovered them, such a confusion reigned there. Golenishchev managed to acquire these figures. This is Vladimir Semyonovich Golenishchev, this is the person who created our Egyptian collection. And thanks to his skill, he knew Arabic perfectly, he knew how to find the right people who sold him these valuable things. Therefore, he went to such "Black" archaeologists, so to speak in modern language, who are engaged in illegal excavations. But the fact is that in Egypt at that time, that is, this is the end of the 19th century, a lot of excavations were black. And some Arab, we do not know his name, sold just these figures to Golenishchev.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Are they in the museum now?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, now they are standing in our hall, as soon as you enter it, right in the window under a glass bell you see these people standing.

A. VENEDIKTOV: You said that they are rare, and why are they rare, if all the Egyptians should have all appeared before the gods, then there should have been a lot of these figures.

O. VASILIEVA: First, not all, only high-ranking Egyptians had such a privilege. In this case, this is a priest, one of the main priests of the temple of Amun, his wife, who was the singer of the god Amun. She sang hymns, played the harp.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Is it all in the temples?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, in the church. And only very rich people could afford to make such figurines. And safety, you know, unfortunately, few things survived in Egypt. This is especially true for wooden things.

A. VENEDIKTOV: I just wanted to ask, where is the tree from?

O. VASILIEVA: I will say this later. There was, of course, a lot of wood, and acacia and fig trees, but these things are made of a very rare species of wood. It is ebony, but there are a lot of ebony species in Africa. And from Nubia, the country of Kush, they brought this tree. That is, its price was enormous, it was even higher than gold.

A. VENEDIKTOV: There was more gold than wood, at least we know that.

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, that's why these are really rare things, and they are made with amazing skill. These are truly masterpieces. Now, if you look at them, they are as if they were alive. This is the amazing property of the Egyptian portrait. On the one hand, a frozen mask-like face, on the other hand, lively eyes that look so surprised at you, and, as it were, through you.

A. VENEDIKTOV: How old are they, these statuettes?

O. VASILIEVA: You know, this is the 15th century BC. This is the era of Queen Hatshipsud.

A. VENEDIKTOV: That is 3.5 thousand years in total?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, by Egyptian standards, everything, but by ours, a lot.

A. VENEDIKTOV: I remind our listeners that we are playing the books “The Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods”. And the question was: what a sacred and beloved animal, but it is unlikely, as they answer me here, that the speedy was a favorite animal, and it is unlikely that a speedy animal can be called an animal, but it is also doubtful, sacred, but it was treated with caution. Have seen the movie "The Mummy", you know. Our listener, who asks you a question via the Internet. He asks: “In the Egyptian hall to the left of the entrance hangs a very strange image of the god Anubis. The head there is a dog, and the human body is drawn in a completely different way from the traditional Egyptian style. Tell us. "

O. VASILIEVA: As I understand it, this is the first hall that is at the entrance to the museum. Because if you enter the Egyptian hall, nothing hangs there to the left of the entrance, but the first hall that meets us is the hall of Greco-Roman Egypt of late. This is Hellenistic Egypt, where the Fayum portraits are.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Yes. By the way, he asks about the Fayum portraits.

O. VASILIEVA: Probably this hall is meant. There is a wonderful thing hanging there, it is a burial shroud, or a shroud in which the deceased was wrapped, and it is framed like a painting, that is, inserted into a frame under glass. By the way, this is Golenishchev's frame, from those times. It depicts a deceased Roman, he is in such a white toga, and indeed he is accompanied to the kingdom of the dead by two deities, Siris in the form of a mummy, and that same Anubis.

A. VENEDIKTOV: The idea is Anubis with a jackal's head. As viewers of The Mummy, we need to know.

O. VASILIEVA: Indeed, this is the head of a jackal. This is the absolute jackal Anubis, and he has such a solar disk on his head. As for the attire, the human body there is also quite in the traditions of the Egyptian, because it is all so twisted, there is both a profile and a full face, these images, traditional for Egypt, are combined. But in general, this veil is already late, this is the Roman time, the 2nd century AD, and of course there are already some mixed elements, they are observed.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Olga, tell me, please, I have a feeling that nowhere, even in Greece, even in Rome, were the gods nowhere in the everyday life of people. There were some insane numbers of them. But even among the Greeks, you will say that there was an insane amount, but I remember that at school we studied a whole paragraph. There was a paragraph about the Greek gods, and about the Egyptian gods. Indeed, was it such an ordinary and everyday thing, or was it something mysterious, mystical monstrous?

O. VASILIEVA: You know, they are right, and I must say, the Greeks themselves admired the piety of the Egyptians, this is their adherence to the gods. And Herodotus, in the second book of his history, wrote that the Egyptians are the most religious people on earth. And I think he is right. I think that the Greeks also worshiped the gods in everyday life. But the Egyptians tried to sanctify every moment of their lives, and they had such small domestic sanctuaries why. Because, unlike the Greeks, who could freely go to the temple, make sacrifices, this is known. The Egyptian could not come to the temple just like that, he could only come to the first hall, open to the common people, and already in the sanctuary itself he could not enter, only the priest entered there. Accordingly, he could not make a sacrifice. Strictly speaking, even a priest could not make a sacrifice, but the king offered a sacrifice.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Didn't the priests sacrifice?

O. VASILIEVA: The priests on behalf of the king only made a sacrifice. So the Egyptian must somehow pray to God, so he is at home, or near temples sometimes such chapels were built, and there pilgrims could honor the deity, bring their gifts. In this way, therefore, this is probably true, but I think that it should not be exaggerated either. There was some kind of folk religion.

A. VENEDIKTOV: About the folk religion. Our listeners answered mostly correctly to the question, there were some speed-ups. Let me remind you that I asked the question: what sacred and beloved animal was widespread in Egypt. We were giving away 10 copies of The Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods. These are translated books by Dmitry Meeks and Kristin Favar-Meeks of the Molodaya Gvardiya publishing house. Our winners, Lika 567 phone starts, Lera 465, Vladimir 492, Polina 312, Timofey 068, Liza 951, Valentina 162, Natalya 910, Taisiya 345, Vera 564. Mostly women, I draw your attention, who answered correctly that cats.

O. VASILIEVA: By the way, it is typical that women, because the cat is the embodiment of the goddess Bastat, the patroness of women.

A. VENEDIKTOV: I found that about 300 thousand cat mummies were found near Memphis.

O. VASILIEVA: Near Memphis?

A. VENEDIKTOV: Near Memphis.

O. VASILIEVA: In general, the center of the cult of this goddess Bubastis.

A. VENEDIKTOV: There is also a city of Benikhasan, there are 180 thousand there. And I found such a wonderful story that the export of cats from Egypt was prohibited then. It is a myth?

O. VASILIEVA: Nevertheless, the Greeks took them to Greece.

A. VENEDIKTOV: When did the Greeks come?

O. VASILIEVA: Then yes, a cat appeared in Greece, but the Greeks appeared from the 6th century BC.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Cats, that was the right answer, we will stop for the news, and then we will continue our conversation with Olga Vasilyeva, and you prepare your questions, send them, and I will turn on the phone.

The news is coming.

A. VENEDIKTOV: 10:35 am in Moscow, Ksenia Larina is on vacation. Let me remind you that now at this place from 10 am to 11 am "Museum Chambers" come out together with the Tsvetaevsky Museum, or the Museum named after Alexander Pushkin. We will have such a mini-series. Today we are talking about ancient Egypt, a week later we are talking about a Greek hall, and a week later we are talking about a Roman hall. Naturally, the museum staff will come. Our guest is Olga Vasilieva, head of the ancient Egypt department of the Pushkin Museum. By phone 363-36-59 you can ask Olga questions about ancient Egypt and the hall of the Pushkin Museum. You can ask, Vadim has already asked us here, there are also questions on SMS. "Is it true that the pharaohs consumed hashish"?

O. VASILIEVA: Hashish? No, you know, this is unknown.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Let's put it this way, is it true that they got stoned and brought themselves to a trance, or are they priests?

O. VASILIEVA: No, you know, it is unknown, tobacco was unknown. As for the trance of the priests, you know, this is a difficult question.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Why?

O. VASILIEVA: I'll explain now. The fact is that there are such rituals among the Egyptian priests that resemble shamanic ones. The priest falls asleep, he has some kind of visions, then he wakes up. But these are really very important rituals, ceremonies. But what the priests used is unknown.

A. VENEDIKTOV: That is, were there any hallucinogens?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, whether he took something to fall asleep or not. It's a difficult question.

O. VASILIEVA: You know, Prus's novel Pharaoh is good, although there are some inaccuracies, but it really is in any novel. You know, Christian Jacques, here is his series about Ramesses.

A. VENEDIKTOV: It is published in Russian.

O. VASILIEVA: Yes. Although, perhaps, he is a little too long, but, in any case, he is a popularizer and an Egyptologist, so you can read.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Remember, Christian Jacques. Before we go any further, I want to play another, this time the computer game "Anthology of Civilization 6", there is about ancient Egypt. Let me remind you that this is a computer game, and only those who are interested in computer games play them. Firm "1C" presented us 10 copies. And the question is very simple, on SMS + 7-985-970-45-45, which commander said: "The soldiers of 40 centuries are looking at you from the tops of these pyramids." Who said you send me the answer at + 7-985-970-45-45. Who said: "Soldiers, 40 centuries look at you from the tops of these pyramids." Was this commander, who has not been named in centuries, made a mistake, or was this phrase written to him?

O. VASILIEVA: Why, he said it without a piece of paper.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Did you know?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes.

A. VENEDIKTOV: So, who said the phrase: “Soldiers, 40 centuries are looking at you from the tops of these pyramids”, + 7-985-970-45-45.

News release in progress.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Our guest is Olga Vasilieva, head of the ancient Egypt department of the Pushkin Museum. Our correspondent Timur Olevsky went to the Egyptian hall and talked with the visitors why they came there, and what amazed them, surprised, amused, maybe. Timur Olevsky.

T. OLEVSKY: It is customary in the museum to talk in a low voice, but this did not prevent the visitors of the hall from recalling the civilization that arose in the Nile Valley and telling about what has come down to us from the life of the Egyptians. So the decorator Elena from Stavropol specially came to Moscow to go to the Pushkin Museum to exchange experience with ancient creators.

ELENA: We use a lot of ornamental elements, tableware paintings, in iron, plastic. I know the meaning, there is no name. They deified animals, and believed that there was a great relationship between humans and animals.

T. OLEVSKY: Cold-blooded schoolboy Vladik knows about the mysterious ways of human remains.

VLADISLAV: Vessels where human organs were placed. They did this to preserve it, and they were guarded by a figurine of an eagle, the head of an eagle.

T. OLEVSKY: Fink College student Elena has her own feminine look. She found elements of modern subcultures in ancient Egypt. “By the way, men were then not what they are now,” she said.

Student ELENA: A lot of jewelry, gold, piercings, it seems to me, are taken from here, because all these temporal jewelry are very popular now. Embalming in our time has also come, all sorts of ladles, dishes. It was difficult for man to explain many natural phenomena, and he invented these unknown enemies, Basset, the sun god Ra. Naturally, then people were stronger than they are now. This is also related to the environment.

T. OLEVSKY: Student of the Chita Zhurfak Ksenia believes that the writing system of Egypt is not adapted for the present day.

KSENIYA: Egyptian gods and, of course, the burial ceremony. I like their writing, but I have not seen such hieroglyphs anywhere, this is such a writing system, but it seems to me that this is not very convenient for the modern world.

T. OLEVSKY: But schoolgirl Tatiana knows exactly where the principle of Egyptian literacy is used with great success.

TATIANA: They also painted on the walls at home, it all looks like comics.

T. OLEVSKY: By the way, about the pyramids, sensible Ksenia, a student of a Moscow school, knows something about the contacts of the Egyptians with aliens.

Schoolgirl KSENIYA: There is, of course, a version that aliens helped them, and even on the temples there were such drawings, similar to the image of a spaceship. In general, everything is possible in life.

T. ALEVSKY: And the music teacher Evgenia Mikhailovna just wants to believe in UFOs. "By the way, mummies" - she said - "And in our time they lie nearby."

EVGENIYA MIKHAILOVNA: But what about our Vladimir Ilyich, he is right there. There are so many theories, and so I want to believe in some kind of alien. We even want to, we understand, there were complex mechanisms, but I think it was not without heavenly forces, someone helped create an extraordinary mechanism, the essence of which we still do not know.

T. ALEVSKY: But the student of the 2nd grade Ira is not afraid of mummies at all, and has no doubt that very smart people lived in ancient Egypt.

IRINA: The most interesting thing is the mummies, as they were made there, they are inanimate, but actually they could do a lot of things. All these colors have survived, they were very many centuries ago, very surprising. All these squiggles, it is all to write out like this so that it remains in the brain, it is very difficult. I think they did it themselves, because they were very smart, but it was very difficult.

T. OLEVSKY: Let me add that, in the opinion of visitors to the Egyptian hall of the Pushkin Museum, we meet the fruits of ancient civilization in our time more often than it might seem at first glance.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Olga Vasilyeva, you are the head of the ancient Egypt department of the Pushkin Museum. Here are your visitors, what do you say? Completely random, as you can imagine.

O. VASILIEVA: Very interesting. But I very often came across the fact that when you ask: “What did you like the most,” especially with children, they immediately answer that it is a mummy. I immediately ask again: "And from the artistic monuments, maybe some figurines."

A. VENEDIKTOV: Why don't you like mummies?

O. VASILIEVA: You know, a mummy is also a work of art, of course, but a little different, then mummies were not only in Egypt, other mummies are also known. But Lenin's example is completely inappropriate here, because a mummy is still a dried body, and here the technology for preserving the body is different. Such interests are very typical, and what we really associate with Egypt are mummies, pyramids, hieroglyphs, and sacred animals.

A. VENEDIKTOV: This is a school course.

O. VASILIEVA: I believe that this is absolutely correct, because there are indeed such elements of Egyptian civilization.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Olya, what are people missing?

O. VASILIEVA: I just started my conversation with my favorite monument, but it’s not my favorite because it’s the only one, and I don’t like anything else. It seems to me that it is worth paying attention not only to the world of the dead, not only we come and see the mummies, we also have the head of a female mummy there, very scary, but also to meet the world of the living. This world is also represented. He also depicts people on the reliefs. Here we are looking into the eyes of Amenhotep, Rannai. These are the people who were very famous at the time. Although many thousands of years have passed. It seems to me that we have to switch to the Egyptian portrait, to the faces of Ancient Egypt, and this can give us a lot. Because these are faces that have remained in eternity. Egyptian artists were able to preserve the appearance of these people forever, these images, it is amazing. Not to mention the Fayum portraits, this is a different Greek tradition. But they took from Egypt this desire to immortalize a person in the literal sense of the word, this is not a metaphor. Because the Egyptians believed that by creating a statue, they preserve a double of a person, this is his immortal essence. This is very important, it is very often overlooked, but it is very important.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Is it a portrait thing, or is it an average Egypt?

O. VASILIEVA: In our sense of the word, of course, this is not a portrait, it is easy to notice, this is a stylized image, idealization, it resembles a mask, I have already spoken about this. We also have a portrait mask of Pharaoh Pepi II, an amazing and unique thing, too, there is no other such in the world. There is a strange feeling. On the one hand, he has some kind of motionless, frozen face, and on the other hand, the features of an ordinary person, we seem to recognize him.

A. VENEDIKTOV: They differ anyway.

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, we recognize them, here is this person, here is another. But the Egyptians still always signed the statue, they tried to be sure, because the name is a very important element. Of course, if the statue is not signed, then of course it may be some kind of person, as long as he is remembered, but as soon as he is forgotten, it is already difficult to identify. And when he has a name, you immediately read that such and such a priest, and we kind of revive him.

A. VENEDIKTOV: I drew attention to what the girl student said about cosmetics and piercings. Is it really so, was it a special art? Why did she pay attention to this?

O. VASILIEVA: Girls are interested in this.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Wait, it's not that easy. If it hadn't been outstanding, I would have slipped past.

O. VASILIEVA: You know, yes, cosmetics, they were used in ancient times, especially eyeliner, and we see an imitation of eyeliner on the sarcophagi.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Why?

O. VASILIEVA: This is a special paint, this is fat, a mixture of crushed malachite, soot, and not only for beauty, by the way, but to keep the eyes from the wind, from the heat. Arabs still paint their eyes.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Is it just to close the tender part?

O. VASILIEVA: For hygienic reasons as well. Both men and women have used it. As for the piercing, you know that the pierced ears, these are the earrings, they came from Asian countries. This is the era of the Middle Kingdom, when there were already contacts with Palestine, with Syria, this is the time. In the ancient kingdom there was no. There were such temporal rings on wigs, they were attached like clips.

A. VENEDIKTOV: A few words about wigs. At one time, and I think that many of our listeners do not know that this black hair of the Egyptians is, in general, wigs.

O. VASILIEVA: Wigs, but they also had their own hair, but the men shaved, of course. As for the women, they did not shave bald, they cut their hair.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Is it from the heat?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, firstly, the ventilation of the head is in progress, and I apologize, they somehow get rid of insects in parallel. Plus, of course, ceremonial wigs, this is an element of such a status rather. Because ordinary people, when they worked in the field, they simply tied some kind of scarf, like a turban, they did something. And noble ladies and nobles, they wore wigs, just like we did in the XYIII century, at receptions, or where they went solemnly, they always wore wigs. And on some of the statues, you can clearly see this bang, your hair, it looks out from under the wig.

A. VENEDIKTOV: So they even depicted it on statues?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, it was noted.

A. VENEDIKTOV: They just showed that it was a wig.

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, that she is not shaved.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Tell me, please, but the Egyptian collection of the Pushkin Museum, is it replenishing, or not replenishing, is it already sufficient, or is there simply nothing to replenish now?

O. VASILIEVA: You know, it was replenished for the last time, unfortunately, in the mid-90s. literally a few things were bought, Ushepti, statuettes of Ushepti's servants, from a private collector.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Russian?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, Russian. I must admit that, alas, the collection is currently not being replenished for financial reasons.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Is there something that you would like to add to the collection?

O. VASILIEVA: I think there is.

A. VENEDIKTOV: I understand that you want Tutankhamun.

O. VASILIEVA: Why, let him stay in Cairo.

A. VENEDIKTOV: What is not systemic, what does not make the collection complete?

O. VASILIEVA: Firstly, our collection is complete in any sense.

A. VENEDIKTOV: In which one?

O. VASILIEVA: It presents all periods, starting from the archaic period, the 4th millennium, all sorts of clay vessels, palettes, and so on, until the very latest, to the Faim portraits. It is really very valuable, but our things are small, not very large, like in museums in the world, and we practically do not have the Amarna era, this mysterious period, the period of Pharaoh Yeritikai Akhenaten.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Does anyone have it, I wanted to ask?

O. VASILIEVA: There are few such things at all, but there is the largest collection in the Berlin museum, in Cairo, in the Louvre, and in the British one there are also several. But Berlin and Cairo are the largest museums.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Olya, what do you have in your storerooms that they don't see, what is not on display now?

O. VASILIEVA: About 900 items are currently on display. The Golenishchev collection is over 6 thousand. You yourself can imagine how much we have in our storerooms, that is, there will be enough for about three more rooms. But we tried to exhibit the most significant things and monuments, this is what I call unique. But, of course, some unique and unique things in the world are not exhibited for whatever reasons. For example, the Golenishchev papyrus with a record of the priest's travels in the Bible. The so-called Unu-Amon papyrus is known to all historians, because he is literally one in the world, and there is no other. But you understand, if you put it in the hall, it will not be entirely clear. You will need to explain, you need to expose some kind of explication.

A. VENEDIKTOV: What does it look like?

O. VASILIEVA: It is under glass, in such a frame.

A. VENEDIKTOV: This is not a package?

O. VASILIEVA: Of course, this is not a scroll, all the papyri are unfolded, otherwise they are poorly preserved in our climate.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Are they poorly preserved in scrolls?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, they break, mold, and so on. In Egypt, they persisted, we do not, we have a different climate. Our humidity is colossal, it is all rotting, unfortunately. Therefore, they are under special glass, and we have a lot of such papyri in our storeroom; only two papyri are exhibited in the hall. I remind you that our guest in the Museum Chambers program is Olga Vasilieva, head of the Ancient Egypt Department of the Pushkin Museum. If you have any questions, you can ask them over the phone. Now I'll turn on the phone 363-36-59. remind you that this is ancient Egypt we have today. In general, about everything is not necessary, if possible.

O. VASILIEVA: Better about the hall, what interests you.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Now let's ask. Olya, put on your headphones. Live telephone 363-36-59, hello, hello.

Listener: Good afternoon. My name is Sergey, and I have a question for the guest of your program. Concerning women's jewelry, specifically earrings. You said that this is a later period, and it is unusual for Ancient Egypt. You have a mummy in the hall, the head of a woman, and it is with an earring.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Ah, well done Sergey, I caught it, thank you very much.

O. VASILIEVA: It is always pleasant when they are caught.

A. VENEDIKTOV: This must be remembered as he remembers it. Is she with an earring?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, she has an earring, and a lock of hair has been preserved there. Great question, but the mummy belongs to the era of the new kingdom. I said the pierced ears are from the Middle Kingdom. The entire history of Egypt is divided into periods.

A. VENEDIKTOV: So it's later?

O. VASILIEVA: Of course later.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Nevertheless, thank you Sergey for saying such a subtlety, noticed, and I can't even remember. Next question. Hello, hello, you're live, what's your name?

Listener2: Hello, my name is Roman, I am from Moscow. I would like to ask Olga a question. Question. I remembered the movie "Pharaoh". The intrigue of the film was that ... In my opinion, a Polish film.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Yes, absolutely definitely, a Polish film. Speak.

Listener2: And there the intrigue of the film was in the confrontation between the pharaoh, or rather the pharaoh's son, and the clergy. And he, in the end, lost the confrontation. At the same time, completely different versions were expressed in other sources, in particular in popular science films of the BBC. How realistic was the balance of power between the secular government and the clergy?

O. VASILIEVA: The fact is that this period, indeed according to Roman Pruso, is the end of the era of the new kingdom. Between these eras, about which I spoke, there were epochs of the collapse of the country, these are the transition periods, and then conflicts took place. This is absolutely true, but a little there, the death of Pharaoh is not historical, after all, this murder, conspiracy, and so on has not been recorded. As for the balance of power, difficulties could arise here, because the Theban priesthood was very strong. And the example of Akhenaten tells us that the conflicts were very serious. But in general, according to the Egyptian worldview, ideas about power, there should be no conflicts, because the high priest is the king, I repeat again.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Is Pharaoh the high priest?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, only he regulates, only he can pray to the gods, no one else. Therefore, he is the central figure everywhere, both in the administration and in the spiritual life.

A. VENEDIKTOV: You should have asked Olga about the museum, otherwise we’ll start leaving now. If you have a question about a museum, here are those who have been to the museum, those who have not been to the museum, it is clear that you have to go. Ask questions. 363-36-59. Hello, hello. What is your name?

Listener 3: Hello. Please, a few words about the Fayum portraits. My name is Yulia, I am from Moscow.

O. VASILIEVA: You know, the Fayum portrait, the name comes from the oasis in northern Egypt Fayum, but in general such things are found in other regions of Egypt, not only in Fayum. Their purpose was different. This is a unique technique on thin boards, Encaustic wax paints. There is a temper technique, that is, there is not wax, but egg white as a connecting link. It is believed that these portraits were painted during his lifetime, they really look like living things, they are looking at us. Some portraits were exhibited in mummies, that is, instead of a mask, just like a face in order to preserve the imperishable image of a person. But some portraits, it is noticeable, they were inserted into frames and hung on the walls. This is analogous to our photographs, our portraits.

A. VENEDIKTOV: I would say that the posters.

O. VASILIEVA: Maybe a poster, but there was such an application too. There were also some kind of paintings, or icons, as they can be called, images of the gods. It's just that it's not on display in our hall.

A. VENEDIKTOV: But is it there?

O. VASILIEVA: It is in the storeroom, it is very poorly preserved, so it cannot be displayed, but it is there.

A. VENEDIKTOV: But this is not in the hall of ancient Egypt?

O. VASILIEVA: Yes, it is in the Greco-Roman hall, where this shroud with Anubis is.

A. VENEDIKTOV: We are just paying attention to this. Before taking the last call, and, if possible, a shorter question, say at once that "Soldiers of 40 centuries", Napoleon said this phrase. And our winners, who receive a computer game "Civilization-6" by 1C, Vladimir, whose phone number starts at 506, Dmitry 367, Pavel 543, Boris 673, Svetlana 209, Katya 779, today they are lucky to Katya, Alexander 659, Oksana 270, Yura 246, and Natalya 221. Let's hear another call, if you don't mind. Hello, hello, you're live, what's your name?

Listener 4: Hello, Lyudmila. I’m wondering if there are such passes with excursions, here’s how to buy them, because I’m 2 years late to buy them.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Subscriptions with excursions as a whole, as I understand it.

O. VASILIEVA: You know, first of all, there is a children's subscription, as I understand it.

A. VENEDIKTOV: This is very important.

O. VASILIEVA: Unfortunately, we have a long queue, applications are accepted twice a year, try calling now, but I will not tell you the phone number to the administration, I don’t remember. This phone number will be indicated to you in the excursion bureau, and they will explain how to do it. It is better to know the whole procedure in advance, and there are still subscriptions for the talks in the halls. This is for a mixed audience, not only for children, but also for adults. We drive through different halls, including the hall of Ancient Egypt. This usually happens in the fall, in October.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Lyudmila, in a week, when they come to us in the Greek hall, I will tell you all the phones and show them. Let's make another call, but very quickly. Hello, hello, you're live, what's your name?

Listener 5: Vladimir, Moscow Region. A question to the specialist Olga about the Fayum portraits. Why are there young faces, why are there no deep old people?

A. VENEDIKTOV: Thank you Vladimir.

O. VASILIEVA: They exist, we just do not have such old people in our congregation. In general, there are images of gray-haired, old people, but in principle, this can be an Egyptian tradition, because it was important to keep a person forever young, young, in a flourishing age, it is possible. But I repeat once again, such images are known.

A. VENEDIKTOV: Thank you very much, Olga Vasilieva, Head of the Ancient Egypt Department of the Pushkin Museum. Our "Museum Chambers" will continue next week at 10 am. We will talk about your favorite Greek Hall. Olga, thank you very much.

O. VASILIEVA: Thank you.

A. VENEDIKTOV: And of course I advise everyone, and as a former teacher, come to the Egyptian hall. Of course, you will not find there what the pharaohs used, as Vadim asked with perseverance worthy of a better application, but you will find many unexpected things there?

O. VASILIEVA: Certainly.

A. VENEDIKTOV: These were the “Museum Chambers”. Goodbye.