EGYPTIAN EXHIBIT IN NAPLES

Naples, Archeological National Museum, from 13 October 2006 until 26th February 2007

The National Archaeology Museum of Naples hosts a unique exhibit that illustrates the diffusion of the Egyptian cult in Campania from the initial contact dating back to the ninth century B.C. to today: "Egittomania. Iside e il mistero" (Egypt-mania: Isis and its mystery).

The stars of this exhibit are the rich findings from the temple of Isis in Pompeii, built in the second century B.C., evidence of the trade relations between Pompeii and the East: magnificent frescoes, sculptures and cult artifacts reconstruct the temple's magical aura. Numerous findings that can be traced to Isis document the cult's diffusion, even among the private citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Egyptomania, a trend that invaded the houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum and their furniture, garden, furnishing and jewelry styles, became widely popular following Augustus' Egyptian conquest, driven by the Imperial court of Rome.

In modern times, the discovery of the temple of Isis in Pompeii in 1776 influenced craft and artistic styles in Campania in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: as proof, the exhibit ends with a magnificent collection of ceramics produced by the Real Fabbrica in Naples.