Royal Ontario Museum lends Queen Touy work to Monaco

Tandem (Letizia Tesi)

She was the daughter of Ramses I and “the great royal wife” during the reign of Sete I. Little else is know about her. Touy, Egyptian queen of the XIX Dynasty is recorded in history as being the mother of the famous Ramses II – the son she supported until her death at around 1258 B.C.

On display at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a bas-relief depicting Queen Touy, along with daughter Tia and her husband, son of the king’s scribe, as they bring offerings to the gods.

The stone, dated around 1250 B.C. (just a few years before the death of Touy), was originally part of a bas-relief display that decorated the Tanis cappella in northern Egypt.

This work of art will be leaving ROM for the first time, to be flown to Monaco where from July 12 to September 10 it will be part of the international exhibit at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco Congress Centre dedicated to the Egyptian ruling dynasties: pharaohs, queens, spouses, and their offspring.

The exhibit will display 250 pieces from 40 museums all over the world including the Egyptian Museum of Turin and that of Cairo. The exhibit opens with Cleopatra, the best-known of the Egyptian queens (although she is of Greek origin). It ends with a lesser-known queen, Taousert, whose tomb in the Valley of the Kings is open to the public.

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