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Thursday, February 13, 2025

Wrapped in splendour. Reconstructions of medieval garments from Nubia – Bode-Museum | 06.02.-12.04.2025

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The special presentation in room 220 of the Bode Museum shows glamourous and elegant garments from medieval Nubia that express secular and religious prestige. The reconstructions are based on wall paintings from the cathedral of Faras. These are now in the collections of the National Museum in Warsaw and the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum. These magnificent loans enter into dialogue with selected textiles from the collections of the Museum of Byzantine Art and the Museum of Islamic Art. The exhibition runs from 6 February to 12 April 2025.

Image above: König 2: Nachbildung der mittelalterlichen Tracht eines Königs von Makuria, © Paulina Matusiak und Eddy Wenting.

In the 1960s, the Egyptian government decided to build the Aswan High Dam. In order to research and save areas threatened by the flooding of the Nile, scientists from twenty-six countries took part in a UNESCO initiative to save the cultural heritage of Nubia. In this context, a Polish team led by Prof Kazimierz Michałowski from the University of Warsaw researched the city of Faras, one of the medieval capitals of the Kingdom of Nobadia, which existed between the sixth and the end of the seventh century and extended over the area of present-day southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Faras then remained the capital of the northern province of the kingdom of Makuria until the 14th century. The discovery of a cathedral and a series of unique wall paintings was the beginning of numerous studies, which are still a focus of Polish research today. The National Museum in Warsaw houses a globally unique collection of Nubian art from the Middle Ages in the Faras Gallery.

Especially now, during the tragic civil war in Sudan, the research that has been carried out there for decades should remind the world that not only the people in this country but also its rich cultural heritage are under serious threat.

DEEDS-NEWS-In-Pracht-Bode-Museum-Wandmalerei-mit-der-Darstellung-eines-Koenigs.jpg
Wandmalerei mit der Darstellung eines Königs aus der mittelalterlichen Kathedrale von Faras, Nubien (Sudan)

As today, clothing and accessories were a form of non-verbal communication in medieval Nubia, the border region of modern-day southern Egypt and northern Sudan, with each element having its own meaning. The cathedral of Faras, uncovered in the 1960s, contained a large number of wall paintings. They depict, among others, the most influential official and ecclesiastical figures of the Nubian kingdom of Makuria. In the 6th century, Christianity was introduced as a new faith in this region from Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Makuria remained a Christian state until the 14th century. Many churches were built during this period, which were decorated with monumental images of members of the court and clergy. They were intended to demonstrate to the faithful the connection between the kingdom and the church.

A research team from the University of Warsaw and the SWPS University has set itself the task of researching and reconstructing the splendid robes of the Nubian royal family and the ecclesiastical dignitaries from the cathedral of Faras.

The glamourous clothing in the Faras murals is particularly elegant and reveals its own symbolism. Initially inspired by the courtly costume of Byzantium, over the centuries its decoration has blended with African colours and motifs as well as Arabic influences to create a unique style of dress. Five robes for royal mothers, kings and a bishop were painstakingly reconstructed on the basis of the paintings from Faras Cathedral and archaeological material.

DEEDS-NEWS-In-Pracht-gehuellt-Bode-Museum-Nachbildung-der-byzantinischen-Tracht-einer-koeniglichen-Mutter-von-Makuria.jpg
Königinmutter 1: Nachbildung der byzantinischen Tracht einer königlichen Mutter von Makuria, © Paulina Matusiak und Eddy Wenting

After an initial presentation at the Louvre in Paris, they will now be exhibited from 6 February 2025 in room 220 of the Bode Museum together with selected textiles from the collections of the Museum of Byzantine Art and the Museum of Islamic Art, which will be used to explain the various techniques and decorations used in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. In addition, the exhibition documents the research results of a project investigating the relationship of authority between church and state in Nubia, while raising awareness of the current tragic situation in Sudan and the threat to the country’s rich cultural heritage.

‘Wrapped in splendour. Reconstructions of Medieval Vestments from Nubia’ is curated by Dr Cäcilia Fluck, research assistant, and Kathrin Mälck, textile conservator for the Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art, Dr Karel Innemee, archaeologist, for the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, and Dr Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, director, for the Faculty of Design at the SWPS University of Warsaw.

WHEN?

Opening: Wednesday, 5 February 2025, 5.30 pm

Exhibition dates: Thursday, 6 February – Saturday, 12 April 2025

Opening hours: Wednesday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

WHERE?

Bode-Museum
Am Kupfergraben 3
10178 Berlin

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