Exhibition: From Gurob to the Getty: The Voyages of an Ancient Egyptian Ship-Cart Model

Explore the ancient and modern contexts of one of the most important artefacts in the Petrie Museum: an ancient model of a ship-cart excavated from a tomb at the site of Gurob.

Its unusual form is based on an Aegean-style type of boat used by Mycenaean Greeks: providing hints about the ancient migration of people and ideas across the Mediterranean to Egypt during the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1069BC).

Excavated by Sir Flinders Petrie and his team of Egyptian workmen in 1920, the ship-cart model was subsequently transferred to UCL where it is now displayed at the Petrie Museum.

In 2018, it was loaned to the J. Paul Getty Museum as part of their major exhibition, Behind the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World. Before going on display in Los Angeles, the model underwent months of preparation, painstaking conservation and specialist mount-making to showcase it in the best possible way.

Be one of the first to see this unique object back in London in this new exhibition dedicated to this unique ship-cart model, and find out more about its long history from its creation to the present day.