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Art Talk Live: The Secret Life of Ptahshepses Impy

Rectangular stone relief in two pieces with text and images of Egyptian official Ptahshepses Impy and his family.
Tomb relief of the official Ptahshepses, also called Impy, Egypt, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6, 2323–2150 BCE. Carved limestone. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Nanette Rodney Kelekian in memory of George and Ilse Hanfmann,1993.222.

Gallery Talk

Join Egyptologist Jen Thum for an engaging look at the results of new research on the tomb relief of Ptahshepses Impy, an Egyptian official. Thum will explore the implications of this research, including possible changes to the display of the relief to indicate missing portions.

Ptahshepses Impy’s tomb relief was the subject of the museums’ very first virtual Art Talk in May 2020. We’ll review what we knew then and what we know now. This talk will give us all a chance to know Ptahshepses Impy a bit better and to wonder together about what his relief might teach visitors to the museums in the future.

Led by:
Jen Thum, Assistant Director of Academic Engagement and Assistant Research Curator, Division of Academic and Public Programs

This talk is part of a series inspired by ReFrame, a museum-wide initiative to reimagine the function, role, and future of the university art museum. These talks examine difficult histories, foreground untold stories, and experiment with new approaches to the collections of the Harvard Art Museums, reflecting the concerns of our world today.

This talk will take place online via Zoom. The event is free and open to all, but registration is required. To register, please complete this online form.

Please read these instructions on how to join a meeting on Zoom. For general questions about Art Talks, email am_register@harvard.edu.

Art Talks Live are presented via Zoom every other Tuesday at 12:30pm (ET) and offer an up-close look at works from our collections with our team of curators, conservators, fellows, and graduate students.

The Harvard Art Museums are committed to accessibility for all visitors. For anyone requiring accessibility accommodations for our programs, please contact us at am_register@harvard.edu at least 48 hours in advance.

The Harvard Art Museums have reopened to the public. Reservations are required for visitors and can be made up to three weeks in advance. Please visit the museum website for more information.