If you were eyeing an interstate trip to see the Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition taking place in Sydney, but live in or near Melbourne, then we have some good news for you. Save yourself the plane ride because a blockbuster exhibition dedicated to ancient Egyptian art and culture is coming to the NGV International (NGV) in 2024. 

Pharaoh will bring more than 500 works from the British Museum to Australia, including monumental sculptures, tombs and temple architecture, coffins and funerary objects, as well as exquisite ancient Egyptian jewellery. 

The exhibition is part of the NGV Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series and will be the largest exhibition the British Museum has ever presented internationally in its 270-year history and will be the single largest Egyptian exhibition ever put on in Australia. 

Pharaoh will explore the fascinating lives, myths and images of the successive rulers of ancient Egypt from the 1st Dynasty (c.3000 BCE) to the Roman period (3rd century CE). Key works on display were originally created to celebrate some of Egypt’s most famous kings and queens, think boy king Tutankhamun, Ramses II and Queen Nefertari.

There’ll be a larger-than-life limestone statue of Ramses II (c.1279-1213 BCE) on display depicting one of ancient Egypt’s most famous kings as a high priest, making offerings to appease the gods in his capacity as the gods’ representative on earth. Ramses II was one of Egypt’s longest ruling pharaohs who had numerous wives, fathered more than eighty children and commissioned a vast number of temples, monuments and statuary for his own self-glorification. 

The exhibition will also be part of NGV Friday Nights, a perfect spot to take shelter on a frosty Melbourne winter night. 

Pharaoh will be on display from 14 June – 6 October 2024 at NGV International.  Admission fees apply. For more information or to book tickets, visit ngv.vic.gov.au

Related story: A giant inflatable sphere is coming to the NGV this summer

All images used in this article are courtesy of the NGV and property of The Trustees of the British Museum.