Exhibition: The General Who Became King

Art Museum Journal (Stan Parchin)

With photos.

The ambitious successor of Pharaoh Tutankhamun (r. 1332-1323 B.C.) is the subject of Haremhab, The General Who Became King, opening November 10, 2010 at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. This landmark exhibition's objects are drawn entirely from the institution's collection of Egyptian art. Haremhab as a Scribe (ca. 1336-1323 B.C.), the installation’s life-sized gray granite centerpiece, portrays the able administrator as a wise man.

The Met's massive monument is accompanied by more than 40 wall reliefs, works on papyrus (paper), statuettes, textiles and facsimile paintings. Egyptologists recently used them to freshly interpret the non-royal Haremhab's fascinating reign during the transitional Post-Amarna Period, when polytheistic beliefs in ancient Egypt were restored. Through artifacts grouped thematically, the show also explains the scribe's role in Egyptian society and religion. The museum's presentation ideally complements Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at Manhattan's Discovery Times Square Exposition (April 23, 2010-January 2, 2011).