Sometimes an object, alone in it’s display can be powerfully beautiful. This vase sat alone on a pedestal in the Nubian museum in Aswan, Egypt. A museum dedicated to a civilization that predated ancient Egypt and eventually was conquered by them, then later conquered the Egyptians, it’s a history of people that have survived.
This glass vase, although not ancient in it’s heritage is part of a small collection of items in the museum from the Islamic period. It’s a semi translucent piece of art, covered in gold foil and delicately painted colors that later reminded us of the Ottoman empire in Turkey. Among the enormous sculptures and monuments in the museum from ancient Nubia, this seemed somewhat out of place. It’s location in the museum, just before the displays on Aswan dam, which flooded hundreds of acres of lower Nubia (southern Egypt), forcibly relocated a significant Egyptian Nubian population and flooded several ancient Egyptian sites, made it somewhat of a sad relic of the Nubian people.
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IF YOU GO: The Nubian Museum/International Museum of Nubia holds treasures and artifacts collected by international archeologists in both northern Sudan and southern Egypt. Even today the area outside of Aswan is not heavily populated and pictures from archeological expeditions show a landscape similar to that of today. The museum, an easy walk from downtown Aswan (no matter what the taxi driver’s say!) sits atop a hill overlooking the city and Nile valley. It’s popular with tour groups and Holidays to Egypt type groups, but they move through rather quickly. There’s a beautiful garden with indigenous plants and benches if you want to stop for a picnic. As with all sites in Egypt, be prepared to go through metal detectors and have your bag searched before entry. The signage is excellent and in fairly good English. There’s an on-site cafe, but you’ll do better enjoying a snack at a shop along your walk.
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures says
Love the blue in it!
Jillian says
Oh me too! The colors were even better in person- the whole vase was transluscent except where painted, creating an interesting play with the light!