Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs

Ramses II, known as Ramses the Great, was the most celebrated and powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom--Egypt's golden age. Believed to be a god on Earth, he ruled for 67 years as part of the 19th Dynasty, erecting enormous temples, obelisks, and statues and expanding Egypt's empire. This state-of-the-art exhibition features the greatest collection of Ramses II objects and Egyptian jewelry ever to travel to the United States. Along with the pharaoh's colossal royal sculpture, the exhibition highlights recently discovered animal mummies and treasures from the royal tombs of Dahshur and Tanis.

Visitors can walk among towering statues and immerse themselves in multimedia productions that re-create moments from Ramses's life, including his triumph at Kadesh, the largest chariot battle ever fought. An optional virtual reality experience, Ramses & Nefertari: Journey to Osiris, offers a breathtaking tour of two of Ramses's most impressive monuments: Abu Simbel and Nefertari's tomb.

Image Credit: Upper part of a statue of Ramses II holding the heka scepter. Egyptian, Tanis, temple of Amun, New Kingdom, Dynasty 19. Granodiorite; 32¼ × 27½ × 21¼ in. (82 × 70 × 54 cm). Egyptian Museum, Cairo, CG 616, SR 4/13661. Photograph by Sandro Vannini. Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco