November 2012 - Barcelona

The Hot
Seat
Jordi Clos
The president of the Museu Egipci is still passionate
about an extraordinary civilisation. By Eugènia Sendra
MUSEU EGIPCI
Ancient Egypt and its art have
fascinated you for a long time.
I’m a great fan of culture and the
arts, but the Egyptian collection is
what’s closest to my heart. My
interest started when I was 12,
and at 19 I bought my fi rst piece.
The collection has allowed me to
work in Egypt, and discover an
intact tomb from 1100 BC.
Which of the museum’s 1,100
pieces would you save from a fire?
We have several objects that would
be hard to get hold of nowadays,
such as the stele of Cleopatra VII –
many of these were destroyed in
Alexandria, and if it had been
identifi ed sooner, it would probably
have ended up at the Louvre or the
British Museum. Or the fragments
of bas-reliefs from the tomb of Iny,
bought in London, Paris, New York
and Amsterdam.
They’re objects with a story.
Yes, there’s the scientifi c story and
the personal one, that of their
owners. I have objects that
belonged to Adolf Hitler’s
propaganda chief, and a necklace
that once belonged to Rudolf
Valentino.
You define the museum as ‘alive’.
There’s a lot going on; we’re still
making new acquisitions. We’ve
created a diploma and master’s
degree in Egyptology, and we run
workshops for children. We want to
pass on a sense of respect for
humanity’s cultural heritage.
In November the star of the show
will be Tutankhamon.
That’s right, we’re putting on an
exhibition to celebrate the 90th
anniversary of the discovery of his
tomb by Howard Carter.
1,100
objects make up the collection,
from the pre-dynastic period to
the time of Cleopatra.
6 Time Out BCN Guide November 2012