Ancient Civilisations Exhibit at National Musuem

Neckace worn for burial

Fresh from my holiday trip to Egypt, I chanced upon a rare exhibition in Singapore called Ancient Civilisations at the Singapore National Musuem. It is being held till early April 2010 and it is well worth the 1 to 1 hr hours spent, especially for those who want to have a glimpse of the ancient Egyptian obsession of burial and afterlife as well as learn some the their mathematics processes. They were really far ahead of their time then and their graphical language - hieroglyphics was also the first recorded languange in ancient history as they had the means (by papyrus) to document their works for history.


Serapheum Sphinxes

I invite any of our QRA personnel from Malaysia and Thailand, when in Singapore, to spend a short time to widen your horizons and understand an ancient civilisation. It is perhaps the ancient Egyptians obsession for thousands of years with the afterlife that all their burial chambers and tombs nowadays are tourist attractions. It however gives one a glimpse of how magnificent the ancient peoples lived and the artefacts which they created are still being made today.

An example is the royal necklace used to adorn the mummy, it is made from Egyptian marble,alabaster, turqiose,onyx,opals and other stones. Each stone carefully selected, chiselled and shaped accordingly. A lot of work must have gone to fashioning the right shape, colour and texture of the stones and hence the finished product, the necklace is a piece of art.


Pharoah Horemheb with Horus

Another obsession of the ancient Egyptians was the creation of their gods, which were plentiful. One of the most popular is Horus, who was the son of Osisris and Isis. He was the hero in mythical legends as he sought to avenge his father's death, Osiris and ultimatly killed Seth,his father's killer. Practically every New Century Egyptian pharoah has a statue or sculptre built in his honour. Here we see Horemheb sitting with Horus.



4 Canopc jars containing the body organs

These jars are used to store the body organs of the dead Pharoah. Each jar carries specific organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidney. Ancient Egyptians believed that the dead would be reborn so they would need their organs in the afterlife.