Exhibition: Egyptian Antiquities at Dartmouth

The Dartmouth (Anisha Mohin)

Over the past few years, Dartmouth’s resident Egyptologist Christine Lilyquist has spent tireless hours cataloging and researching Dartmouth’s collection of ancient Egyptian objects. Her work culminated in the creation of an exhibition designed to showcase the Hood’s distinguished collection of Egyptian artifacts. “Egyptian Antiquities at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art” opened last September in the Hood Museum’s Gunman Gallery, and the exhibition spotlights many artifacts from the College’s collection — previously hidden from public view — that span centuries of ancient Egyptian history.

After working as the head of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Egyptian Art in New York, Lilyquist moved to her cozy home in Chelsea, Vt., to join the staff of the Hood with the goal of studying the museum’s collection of Egyptian objects. Prior to Lilyquist’s arrival, Dartmouth’s Egyptian artifacts were kept primarily in storage, she said.

“The Hood had never had an Egyptologist work with the collection,” Lilyquist said. “Occasionally, a professor brought classes down into the storeroom to look at the objects. The Hood didn’t want to be showing artifacts that were fake, so they asked me to come in and do a quick run through.”