The world in between: Egypt and Nubia in Africa ∙Telling the story through museum artifacts

The talk discusses the complex interrelationship between ancient Egypt and Nubia based on a new planned exhibition slated to open at the University of Virginia. Beyond merely acknowledging the geographical position of ancient Egypt on the African continent, the lecture examines the extent to which Egypt was of Africa culturally, first by scrutinizing the categories of ‘Egypt’ and ‘Nubia’ and the connections between material and visual culture and identity. Subsequently it utilizes key artifacts in US collections as case studies to tell the story of this interaction anew, fleshing out the rich and complex rapport between Egypt and Nubia over the course of several millennia, from prehistory (ca. 3800 BCE) through pharaonic Meroe (350 CE). In the process, the lecture also highlights the importance as well as the limitations of using visual culture to articulate/construct and understand/read ancient identities.