Hatshepsut—Egypt’s Female Pharaoh—Reigns Supreme at New de Young Museum

By Elaine Pasquini


	Detail of limestone statue of Hatshepsut as maned sphinx shows delicate feminine facial features (Staff photos P. Pasquini).

MORE THAN 3,000 years after reigning as Egypt’s powerful female pharaoh, Hatshepsut still fascinates her 21st century admirers, including Consul General Abderahman Salaheldin. “Hatshepsut was a symbol of empowerment of women,” the Egyptian diplomat told journalists and photographers at the Oct. 12 press preview of “Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh.” The blockbuster show, featuring some 260 objects from 23 museums, is the major inaugural exhibition at San Francisco’s new de Young museum, which opened to the public Oct. 15. The spectacular de Young replaces the original Golden Gate Park building, damaged in the 1989 earthquake. The new museum, consisting of three levels and a twisting nine-story tower, was built through private fund-raising led by Fine Arts Museums (FAM) Board of Trustees President Diane B. Wilsey.

The Hatshepsut exhibition, on view at the de Young until Feb. 5, was organized by FAM and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it will be on display March 28 to July 9, before moving to the show’s final venue, Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum, from Aug. 27 to Dec. 31, 2006. FAM’s Renee Dreyfus co-curated the awesome exhibition with the Metropolitan Museum’s Catharine H. Roehrig, and Cathleen A. Keller of the University of California at Berkeley. The trio also produced the comprehensive exhibition catalog.

While intrigue and mystery surround Hatshepsut’s reign, which began around 1473 BCE, the controversial ruler’s royal credentials are impressive. She was the daughter of the powerful pharaoh Thutmose I and wife of his successor (and her half-brother) Thutmose II. After her husband’s death, the widowed queen became regent to her stepson (and nephew) Thutmose III, who was too young to rule alone. Soon, however, Hatshepsut declared herself pharaoh and—while ostensibly ruling jointly with her stepson/nephew—enjoyed a successful solo reign for two decades.


Painted limestone double portrait of Senenmut (Staff photo P. Pasquini).

A stunning painted limestone statue of Hatshepsut—one of several on display—portrays her as a maned sphinx. Its delicately refined facial features depict a queen-pharaoh of great beauty and intelligence.

The artistic creativity which thrived during Hatshepsut’s reign is reflected in the exhibition’s everyday objects, including cosmetic paraphernalia used during the Eighteenth Dynasty, when make-up—particularly kohl, used for lining the eyes to protect them from insects as well as for beauty—was popular among chic New Kingdom women. Eclectic items on display include a hedgehog vase, and cosmetic spoons in the shape of a resting dog and a crouching mouse. Like all of her predecessors and successors, Hatshepsut possessed a treasure trove of exquisite earrings, bracelets, necklaces and even gold flip-flops and toe-protecting thimbles of gold.

The royal princess-regent-queen-pharaoh was an independent woman whose relationship with her trusted adviser and architect Senenmut stirs controversy even today. Since commoners in ancient Egypt were never buried near a royal personage, Senenmut’s highly decorated burial chamber situated off to the side of Hatshepsut’s stupendous memorial temple at Deir el-Bahri on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes lends credence to the speculation that the two had an intimate personal relationship. Several depictions of Senenmut are on display, including one sculpture of touching intimacy depicting the royal adviser lovingly holding Hatshepsut’s daughter.

Egyptian Dinner, a Movie, and More!


	At San Francisco’s deYoung Museum, Egyptian Consul General Abderahman Salaheldin poses with students from the University of California at Santa Cruz (Staff photo P. Pasquini).

Egyptian Consul General Abderahman Salaheldin and San Francisco’s Fine Arts Museums Board of Trustees Civil Affairs Committee co-hosted a special reception at the de Young Museum Oct. 21. Among the 200 guests were 20 students from the University of California at Santa Cruz, classmates of the consul general’s twin sons, Waleed and Khalid. The college students were awed by the spectacular Hatshepsut exhibit, and thrilled with their private tour led by co-curator Renee Dreyfus.

All the guests enjoyed a scrumptious Middle Eastern buffet prepared by Al-Masri restaurant, followed by a screening of the popular Egyptian film “Best Times” (“Ahla al-Awqat”), a modern social drama directed by Hala Khalil and starring Egyptian superstar Hanan Turk.

Other highlights of the evening included Phil Pasquini’s digital Egyptian photographs, electronically displayed on large floor-to-ceiling glass panels in the high-tech Kimball Education Gallery; henna artists on hand to make up any guest desiring kohl-lined pharaoh’s eyes; and Egyptian jazz performed by Sababa in the Wilsey Court.

Henna Garden Events and Entertainment assisted in organizing the evening events. For information on exhibition events visit the de Young Web site at <http://www.thinker.org>.

Bethlehem Mayor Laments His City’s Tragic State


San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (l) and Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh applaud Palestinian debke dancers at a City Hall reception (Staff photo E. Pasquini).

“Illegal settlements around Bethlehem are fast expanding at great cost to the lives and livelihoods of its residents,” said Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh at an Oct. 25 reception in his honor at San Francisco’s City Hall. “The illegal settlements have no respect for the environment or the ancient history of the place or the lives of the people whose culture has shaped the taste and texture of biblical times.”

Mayor Batarseh discussed Bethlehem’s most recent and gravest crisis and the dismal state of his city’s affairs following a private meeting with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom about the possibility of developing a sister city relationship between their cities.

“The wall which is encircling Bethlehem’s urban areas and grabbing the city’s hills and farmland is an extremely dangerous development,” he lamented.

The 30-foot-high concrete wall surrounding Bethlehem has destroyed the city’s once vibrant tourist industry—today at only 5 percent of historic levels. Traffic on the once busy main street leading to historic Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity—the birthplace of Jesus, and an important pilgrimage for Christians around the world—is practically non-existent. With unemployment at over 50 percent, an increasing number of Bethlehemites find themselves living below the poverty line.

“One day the wall around our town will fall,” predicted the Christian mayor. “We will try to bring that day closer, but until then, we can refuse to live in its shadow. We can declare Bethlehem open because our town stands for the values of openness, an open democracy built on the open hearts of its citizens.”

Vigils Honor 2,000-Plus American Soldiers Killed in Iraq


	Vigilers outside Novato City Hall on Oct. 26 (Staff photo E. Pasquini).

On Oct. 23, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan R. Spears died while conducting combat operations in Al Ramadi, Iraq. The 21-year-old from Molino, FL, was the 2,000th American serviceperson to die in the U.S.-led war on Iraq.*

By Oct. 26, when several dozen candlelight vigils were held in neighborhoods throughout the Bay Area, the death toll had risen to 2,006. In addition, according to Iraq Body Count, Iraqi civilian war-related deaths since the U.S. invasion range from 26,732 to 30,098.

At a memorial vigil in front of Novato’s City Hall, some 50 peace activists gathered to honor the fallen service members and call for the war’s end. Activist Don Foster’s paper cranes, each inscribed with a dead soldier’s name, were a dramatic backdrop behind the vigilers holding lighted candles and peace signs.

*Data research by Patricia D. Kneisler and Michael S. White of <http://www.icasualties.org>.

Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.