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Civilizations from Around the Globe

Exceptional exhibitions featured at the Kimbell over the last half century

Exhibition 1/3 Treasures from the Bronze Age of China:
An Exhibition from the People’s Republic of China
October to December 1980

The 105 exhibits in the present exhibition sent by the People’s Republic of China, carefully selected for their aesthetic and historical importance, summarize the most brilliant achievements in recent Chinese Bronze Age archaeology.

Many of the spectacular objects included are of such outstanding importance that there was some doubt at first that the Chinese government would permit them to leave the country. Equally unprecedented is the unstinting cooperation of the Chinese in the preparation of the major scholarly catalogue that accompanies the show.

Exhibition 2/3 Fiery Pool:
The Maya and the Mythic Sea
August 2010 to January 2011

In 1986, the Kimbell Art Museum’s landmark exhibition The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art shed new light on the importance of royal lineage and blood sacrifice to the ancient Maya people of Central America. Nearly a quarter century later, the Kimbell presents Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea. This equally groundbreaking exhibition is the first to explore the profound influence of water on Maya civilization.

Travel Back in Time

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and videos from the exhibit

Exhibition 3/3 Egypt’s Dazzling Sun:
Amenhotep III and His World
October 1992 to January 1993

The reign of Egypt’s sun king, the New Kingdom pharaoh Amenhotep III (1391–1353 B.C.), marked the golden age of ancient Egyptian civilization, a period of unsurpassed power and prosperity. Some 140 of the finest works of art produced during the reign of Amenhotep III are featured in one of the most important and comprehensive displays of Egyptian New Kingdom art ever held.

The colossal Head of Amenhotep III is the most beautiful and best preserved of a group of huge, solid standing figures—each originally 26 ½ feet tall—which once adorned the courtyard of Amenhotep III’s last mortuary temple at Thebes.

The installation at the Kimbell creates long vistas that offer visitors an echo of the experience of the ancient processional routes, culminating in a majestic image such as the enthroned statue of Amenhotep III.

The colossal Head of Amenhotep III is the most beautiful and best preserved of a group of huge, solid standing figures—each originally 26 ½ feet tall—which once adorned the courtyard of Amenhotep III’s last mortuary temple at Thebes.

The installation at the Kimbell creates long vistas that offer visitors an echo of the experience of the ancient processional routes, culminating in a majestic image such as the enthroned statue of Amenhotep III.