Message #180663

[Bianca Markos]

Given all this, it’s tempting to greet a show like “The Secrets of Tomb 10A’’ with cynicism - just the kind of show that a cash-strapped museum distracted by a costly building project might be expected to mount. Why, if this show is so compelling, have most of its contents been lying around in pieces in the MFA’s vaults for a century?

It’s a fair question. And yet “The Secrets of Tomb 10A’’ tells a fascinating story with objects that may not be uniformly precious but, because of their history, have a charisma all their own. Unlike a lot of Egyptian shows which are often loosely themed grab-bags of unrelated objects, this one has a tight focus, and brings us into the process of discovery and interpretation like few exhibitions of ancient art I’ve seen.

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2009/10/18/tomb_10a_lets_you_look_history_right_in_the_face/