ARCE Chicago: A Nubia-Centric View of Egypt's Twenty-fifth Dynasty

Lecture Information: 

The Twenty-fifth Dynasty, the time of Kushite hegemony, was one of the most creative and prolific periods for sculpture and architecture in Egypt—certainly an anomaly for a country under foreign rule.  This talk will examine the country the Kushites entered, look at some of the royal and private works created under their aegis, and attempt to solve the mystery of how and why this happened.

About Rita E. Freed:

Rita Freed, a specialist in Egyptian and Nubian Art, received Ph.D. in Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She served as Associate Professor of Art at the University of Memphis and founding Director of the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology before coming to the MFA, Boston, to head the Department of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian and Near Eastern Art. She is now the John F. Cogan, Jr. and Mary L. Cornille Chair Emerita of that Department as well as Adjunct Professor of Art at Wellesley College. Freed has excavated in Egypt, Israel, and Cyprus.  Among the many exhibitions she has curated and co-curated include Egypt’s Golden Age; A Divine Tour of Ancient Egypt; Ramesses the Great; Pharaohs of the Sun; The Secrets of Tomb 10A, and Ancient Nubia Now, and she has authored numerous books and articles.  She is past president of CIPEG (Comité International pour l’Égyptologie), former US representative of the International Congress of Egyptology and she recently served on the boards of the Scientific Committee of the Egyptian Museum in Turin, the Archaeological Endowment Fund of the American Research Center in Egypt, and the Editorial Board of The Art Journal.