Conserving Egypt’s past at the Hearst

Berkeleyside (Lance Knobel)

I’ve always found small exhibitions far better experiences than blockbusters. You generally don’t need to jostle with the crowds and you can concentrate on understanding a few objects, rather than be overwhelmed by hundreds.

The Hearst Museum of Anthropology on the UC Berkeley campus offers just such a treat with The Conservator’s Art: Preserving Egypt’s Past, which opens today and runs until spring next year. It shows 65 objects from the 17,000 ancient Egyptian items in its collection (a small fraction of the over 4 million objects in total, scattered over four buildings in Berkeley and Richmond). It’s also, as the title makes clear, an introduction to the meticulous work of conservators with ancient treasures.