To celebrate the second anniversary of the Royal Chariots
Museum's opening, which falls annually on October 31, Head of the Museums
Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Moamen Othman opened two permanent
exhibition halls that house many distinguished artifacts.
Othman said that the first hall exhibits a group of
antiquities and jewelry belonging to the Alawite family, some of which are
displayed for the first time. He noted that the collection includes the wedding
chair of King Farouk which was kept in Al-Gawhara Palace, Queen Farida's
jewelry, a diamond-set gold tray of Empress Eugenie, and oil paintings.
For his part, Director General of the Royal Chariots Museum
Ahmed el-Sabbagh said that the second hall houses a group of distinguished
pieces, including a salon dating back to the era of Louis XV; a group of oil
portraits of Mohammad Ali Pasha, Ibrahim Pasha, and Khedive Ismail; a bust of
Khedive Ismail; and another of the King Fouad, among others.
During the event, an art exhibition that display a
collection of Queen Farida's oil paintings will be inaugurated, a documentary
film about the museum and its holdings will be screened, and a series of
educational and artistic workshops, as well as a concert will be organized.
It is worth noting that the Royal Chariots Museum is one of
the rarest qualitative museums, ranking fifth in the world after the museums of
Russia, England, France and Austria. It was built during the reign of Khedive
Ismail in 1863 AD as a stable for horses and for keeping royal chariots.
The museum includes about 470 artifacts of great beauty, the
most prominent of which are 40 royal chariots of different sizes and types, and
a group of horse sets and their supplies.
That is in addition to the clothes of the workers in the
passenger service, whose jobs were linked to the carts. Employees used to wear
special uniforms characterized by their bright and colorful decorations.
Source: Egypt Today
