Divine Egypt at The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art – the first major exhibition of Egyptian art at the Museum in over a decade – will explore how images of gods in ancient Egypt were experienced not merely as spiritual depictions in temples, shrines, and tombs but were the instruments that brought the gods to life for daily worship, offering ancient Egyptians a vital connection between the human and divine worlds.
Opening on October 12th, the exhibition will bring together over 200 spectacular works of art to examine the imagery associated with the most important deities in ancient Egypt’s complex and always-expanding constellation of gods.
Over more than 3,000 years, the Egyptian people’s belief system grew to include more than 1,500 gods with many overlapping forms and traits. Divine Egypt will feature impressive works of art, ranging from monumental statues to small elegant figurines in gleaming gold and silver and brilliant blue faience, that represent 25 of ancient Egypt’s principal deities, including the stately falcon-headed Horus, the potentially dangerous lion-headed Sakhmet, the great creator-god Re, and the serene mummiform Osiris. The exhibition will reveal the ways in which subtle visual cues, like what a figure wore, how they posed, or the symbols they carried, helped identify them and their roles.
The exhibition is made possible by The John A. Moran Charitable Trust. Additional support is provided by the Kelekian Fund, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman, and Norby Anderson.
Imagery
“Divine Egypt will immerse visitors in the breathtaking imagery of the most formidable ancient deities and expansive universe of the Egyptian gods,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Chief Executive Officer. “The Museum’s galleries for Egyptian art are among the most beloved by our millions of yearly visitors, and this dazzling exhibition brings together some of our most exquisite works with loans from leading global institutions for an exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of ancient Egyptian art.”
Triad of Osorkon II ca. 874‒850 BCE Glass, Metal, Gold, Stone, Lapis Lazuli Musée du Louvre, Paris (E 6204) Photo by Mathieu Rabeau © Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY
The exhibition will include magnificent works of ancient Egyptian art that have never been exhibited together before, many of them on loan from institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Musée du Louvre, Paris; and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. There will also be over 140 works from The Met’s own iconic Egyptian art collection. Highlights range from impressive sculpture to a striking pectoral in gold and lapis (the substances that the bodies of gods were believed to be made of) to detailed metal and wood sculptures.
A solid gold statue of the god Amun will adorn a re-creation of a divine barque, a type of boat that held the principal deity of a temple and would be paraded through the streets during festivals so that people could commune directly with the god. Each section of the exhibition will provide an immersive opportunity to examine the ways in which the kings and people of ancient Egypt recognised and interacted with their gods.
Exhibition Dates:
Oct 12th, 2025–Jan 19th, 2026
Location:
The Met Fifth Avenue, The Tisch Galleries, Gallery 899, 2nd floor
www.metmuseum.org
See also: Man Ray at the Met
