The Singer of Amun Nany’s Funerary Papyrus, Dynasty 21, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 30.3.31
Illustrated lecture with Ava Forte Vitali, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Date: NEW DATE: Thursday, March 27
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
Part of the Death and The Occult in the Ancient World Series
When one considers Death and the Occult in the Ancient World, often the first culture that comes to mind is that of the Ancient Egyptians. Known for their elaborate tombs, complicated religious texts, and captivating mummies, the Ancient Egyptian fascination with death has captivated public interest for centuries. This inaugural lecture in our new monthly series will introduce the mortuary beliefs, traditions, and archaeology of the Ancient Egyptians and examine whether or not they were as morbidly focused as they have traditionally been portrayed to be.
Ava Forte Vitali completed her Master’s Degree in Art History and Archaeology, with a specialization in the Egyptian and Classical World, at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Her research interests include the interaction of the physical and spirit world in Ancient Egypt, archaeology of the household, and Ancient Egyptian domestic and ancestor cults, on which her Master’s focused. She has excavated at sites in Egypt and Turkey, and is a Collections Manager for Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum. She is currently writing a contribution on the Arts and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, for an upcoming text book on the introduction to Art History.
Death and The Occult in the Ancient World Series
This is a new series of monthly lectures, workshops and tours which aim to examine the way people along the ancient Mediterranean interacted with the unseen forces in the world. While many basic ancient myths and mortuary traditions are known to most people with a casual interest, often this barely scrapes the top of a rich wealth of information and long history of interesting, engaging, and surprisingly weird traditions and beliefs. Through illustrated lectures, guided tours, and occasional workshops, we will strive to understand the different approaches that the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans had to explaining the world around them and challenge popular misconceptions held by the public today.
Through this series we hope to bridge the gap that often exists between academic disciplines and the public audience, bringing the two together in an approachable forum. Led by a trained Archaeologist and Art Historian Ava Forte Vitali of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this series will expand upon topics including religion, art, archaeology, and texts, in order to further our understanding of both our world and theirs.