An ancient Egpytian frieze will be shown in all its Technicolor glory as the Met’s the Temple of Dendur is illuminated in an experimental display. Color the Temple: Scene 1, shown every weekend until 19 March, is the joint effort between the museum’s Egyptian art scholars and its MediaLab, a team that works with digital technology to enhance the visitor’s experience. The colour projection will light up a ritual scene carved onto the sandstone of the temple. depicting the Roman emperor Augustus styled as a Pharaoh, making an offering to ancient Egyptian deities. Experts believe that such temple decorations were orignally painted in vivid colours that have faded over the millennia. For the ancient Egyptians, images were instrumental to maintaining order in the universe and colours had symbolic meanings as well as aesthetic appeal. Blue and green were associated with water, the Nile and vegetation; yellow and gold stood for the sun and the sun god, Ra; and, red and red-orange typically symbolised the desert, power, blood and vitality. By reviving part of the dynamic vibrancy that was once present in the ancient walls, the museum hopes to provide visitors with a new perspective on ancient works of art.
