HONG KONG.- The Hong Kong Palace Museum unveiled the highly anticipated special exhibition “Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums”, which runs through 31 August 2026 in Gallery 9. “Ancient Egypt Unveiled” is the largest, most comprehensive, and longest-running display of ancient Egyptian treasures in Hong Kong.

Running for a duration of nine and a half months, “Ancient Egypt Unveiled” features 250 spectacular works from seven major Egyptian museums and the latest archaeological finds. These carefully selected masterpieces, such as the only extant monumental stone sculpture of the legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt, are comparable in quality and rarity to the works on display at the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum. Featuring loans solely owned by the SCA of Egypt, this exhibition is Hong Kong’s first major showcase of treasures sourced directly from Egyptian museums. Most treasures on show are making their debut tour outside of Egypt.

“Ancient Egypt Unveiled” is the fruition of the collaboration between the HKPM and the SCA of Egypt, following their signing of an agreement in June this year. Coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt in 2026, the exhibition exemplifies a shared commitment to cultural exchange and partnership between two of the world’s greatest ancient civilisations.

Bernard Charnwut Chan, Chairman of the WKCDA Board, said, “The Hong Kong Palace Museum’s exceptional collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt marks a milestone for the West Kowloon Cultural District. The HKPM is a perfect venue for this destination exhibition, given the Museum’s vital role in advancing dialogue among world civilisations, fostering international partnerships, and presenting the best of Chinese and global art. Since its opening in July 2022, the HKPM has organised nearly 30 internationally acclaimed exhibitions in partnership with top-tier museums and collections around the globe. Through our close collaboration with the SCA of Egypt, we eagerly anticipate that Hong Kong’s first major showcase of treasures from Egyptian museums will captivate and inspire both local residents and visitors coming from near and far.”

A once-in-a-lifetime journey through five millennia of ancient Egyptian civilisation, featuring its spectacular treasures and the latest archaeological discoveries

Spanning nearly 5,000 years of history dated to around 4000 BCE, “Ancient Egypt Unveiled” is organised into four thematic sections, each presenting a dazzling array of treasures, including over 60 magnificent statues of pharaohs and deities, painted and inscribed stone stelae, eight animal mummies, seven mummy coffins, mummy masks, glittering gold and gemstone-encrusted jewellery pieces, and everyday objects*. Beyond the gallery space, three large stone sculptures of pharaoh Merenptah, princess Shepenwepet II, and goddess Iunit greet visitors and enliven the Museum’s public spaces.

The first section “The Land of Pharaohs” introduces ancient Egyptian civilisation with a focus on pharaohs and deities, the search for the afterlife, and everyday life. Monumental statues and stelae of powerful pharaohs, symbolising their divine kingship, remain across the landscape today. Ancient Egyptians transformed their awe and observations of nature into a vast belief system and a pantheon of deities reflecting their concepts of the creation of the world and its political order. A core belief of the ancient Egyptians was the eternal afterlife, illustrated through objects such as painted wooden coffins and other funerary objects. Everyday objects have much to tell us about what ancient Egyptians ate, how they dressed, where they lived, and how they got around.

The second section “The World of Tutankhamun” takes a focused look at the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun (r. about 1336–1327 BCE), who is shrouded in mystery. His reign was deliberately erased from history by his successors, and his name was forgotten for 3,000 years until the 1922 discovery of his tomb in the Valley of the Kings that brought him back to light. Tutankhamun’s tomb is one of the very few found largely intact and yielded thousands of rare treasures. He lived during the late 18th Dynasty (about 1550–1295 BCE), a complex and turbulent era; the statues of Tutankhamun and his family members reflect the political and religious upheavals of the time. Nonetheless, this same era witnessed the flourishing of arts and craftsmanship, reaching an unprecedented peak in fields such as goldworking, faience, furniture, painting, and sculpture.

The third section “The Secrets of Saqqara” presents nearly 40 recently unearthed objects and zooms in on the earthshattering excavation work in Saqqara, which served as the main burial ground of Memphis, ancient Egypt’s earliest capital, and a religious centre dotted with temples. It was home to the most extensive sacred animal necropolis in ancient Egypt, containing the burials of millions of animal mummies. Archaeological work in Saqqara has unearthed a large number of important objects, including painted anthropoid coffins. This site is one of the world’s top ten archaeological discoveries in 2019 and 2020. On show in this section are seven cat mummies and six artefacts related to Bastet, a goddess often depicted with a cat-headed human form.

The last section “Ancient Egypt and the World” explores cultural dialogues between ancient Egypt and other world civilisations. During the Graeco-Roman Period (332 BCE–395 CE), cultural exchanges between ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean region increased significantly. The juxtaposition of ancient Chinese and Egyptian objects illustrates the splendid achievements of these two great ancient civilisations as they flourished in parallel. This section concludes with an overview of Egypt’s archaeological history and the recent collaboration between China and Egypt in archaeology.

Enhancing visitor experience with original contents and educational programmes

Combining fresh design approaches and cutting-edge digital technologies, the exhibition features over ten original multimedia installations, both inside and outside the gallery, to bring magnificent treasures and the stories of Egypt to life. One transformative installation employs projection mapping technology to reconstruct the damaged sculpture of Tutankhamun and virtually restore its once brilliant but now lost colours. On the Museum’s LG/F, 1/F and 4/F, visitors are invited to further explore ancient Egyptian history, language, and architecture through our engaging digital stations and interactive learning activities.

An exhibition catalogue titled “Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums”, an abridged guidebook and other publications are available in both English and Chinese at the museum shops. An audio tour in English, Cantonese, and Putonghua designed by a renowned Egyptologist exclusively for this exhibition equips visitors with an indispensable tool to explore over 20 highlights in this exhibition. Regular or on-demand tours led by curators or docents are available to the general public and students alike.