Glencairn Museum reopens exhibition of ancient Egyptian jewelry

Glencairn Museum reopens its 2020 exhibition, Sacred Adornment: Jewelry as Belief in Ancient Egypt, beginning Tuesday, February 2, to in-person visitors with reservations.

Sacred Adornment encourages visitors to discover why jewelry was such an important part of daily life for ancient Egyptians. The stunning necklaces, bracelets, and rings in a wide variety of materials from metals such as gold and copper to glass and semi-precious gemstones are all from the Museum’s Egyptian collection. Labels accompanying the items describe what researchers have discovered about the complex ideas that guided the artists and the hopes and beliefs of the men and women who wore this jewelry in ancient times.

Your reservation gives you private access to the Museum’s exhibition and first floor, with audio information about the exhibition, first-floor permanent collections and the castle’s grounds through a free web-app on your smartphone.

“I’m excited about this exhibition because it includes jewelry from the Museum’s Egyptian collection that the public has rarely seen,” says Leah Smith, Visitor Experience manager. “The displays are beautifully lit, so visitors can really appreciate the sparkle and glitter of the gold pieces.

“It’s inspired me to think about my own collection of jewelry, why I wear what I wear and what my choices say about me.”

The exhibition opened in February 2020 but closed a few weeks later under state pandemic regulations.

Online interactive resources and activities relating to the Sacred Adornment exhibition can be found on our website beginning Tuesday, February 2.

Reserving your spot
One-hour private access for yourself or your family group are available Tuesday through Friday beginning at 1:45 and 3:00pm and on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 12:30, 1:45, and 3:00pm. Reservations are required 24 hours in advance of your visit. Suggested donation for the visit is $5 per person.

In addition, weekday morning and guided visits of first floor, grounds, and exhibition are available by special request by contacting Leah Smith, leah.smith@glencairnmuseum.org, 267.502.2993.

A mask properly covering both mouth and nose is required upon entering the building, and must be properly worn at all times while inside the Museum for all visitors age 2+. If a medical condition prevents you from wearing a mask, please contact the Museum so we may accommodate you at an alternate time. Please review the Museum’s Visitors page for current safety protocols, as these may change at any time.

Tapping the knowledge of Egyptology expert at Penn Museum
Jennifer Houser Wegner, PhD, who is associate curator in the Egyptian Section at the Penn Museum, guest-curated this exhibition. She brings to this project a passion for Egyptology and an enthusiasm for the research required to understand the objects, which were purchased rather than coming directly from archeological excavations.

“With the jewelry in the Glencairn collection,” she explains, “you have to do detective work to discover the religious or spiritual significance of a piece. We look for similar excavated pieces in other collections to help determine a possible date and where the object may have originated. We can look at the iconography of the various elements in the jewelry to help identify which deities are represented, then research why they may have been important to the ancient Egyptians.”

Dr. Wegner, who has participated in numerous excavations in Egypt and is a specialist in Egyptian language, is fascinated by the subjective aspect of Egyptian jewelry.

“Not only is it beautifully made, it is also incredibly personal. Almost all of us today wear a meaningful piece of jewelry—a wedding band, engagement ring, religious pendant, your mother’s pearl earrings. If we think about what those prized pieces mean to us, it is not so hard to imagine the special meanings, whether symbolic or personal, that the ancient Egyptians held about their jewelry.”

For more information: Visitor Services at 267.502.2990, info@GlencairnMuseum.org or GlencairnMuseum.org