EXHIBITION: EGYPTIAN TREASURES

Down at the Australian Museum, curator Elizabeth Cowell took a breather from arranging funereal canopic jars to tell us about the approaching exhibition. “People will be knocked out,” she says of the antiquities. Especially by the ivory sculpture of goddess Sakhmet (from about 4500 BCE), the imposing mummies and powerful head of a King – all on loan from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. “We’re extremely lucky,” Cowell adds, “this is an overview of [Vienna’s] huge collection.” And one that not many people get to see. In an intriguing twist, Cowell has juxtaposed contemporary pieces with these ancient mysteries. Objects from Dinosaur Designs and other creative individuals have been, “sprinkled very gently” throughout each room. “It invites people to compare shapes, materials, processes … you can see how similar in shape and use they are.” But if the Book Of The Dead doesn’t quite sate your appetite for the Ancients, there are tomb tours, wrap-your-own mummy sessions, feasts with pharaohs and talks on everything Egyptian.

Until Dec 6, Australian Museum, 6 College St Sydney, 9320 6000, australianmuseum.net.au