gold Egyptian mask in Ramses exhibition at the de Young museum

Mask from the coffin of Amenemope. Photograph by Immerse Agency

Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs

Over 3,000 years in the making. Discover 181 priceless ancient Egyptian treasures.

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.

In the news

  • Historic artifacts meet 21st-century technology in a blockbuster touring exhibition centered on the 19th-Dynasty pharaoh.

    Emma Schkloven, Smithsonian Magazine,
  • Feels like stepping into a Hollywood movie set. The lighting, music, desert-like quietude, the rows of replica columns — we’re off to ancient Egypt.

    Robin Soslow, Chron,

Stories

Films

Get a sneak peak into this exhibition exploring one of the most celebrated rulers in history.

gold Egyptian mask in Ramses exhibition at the de Young museum

Introducing Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs

Preview the acclaimed virtual reality experience.

tomb of Ramses the Great

Ramses + Nefertari: Journey to Osiris

Ramses the Great exhibition installation

More info

Sponsors

Presenting Sponsor

John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn
Diane B. Wilsey

Lead Sponsors

Barbara A. Wolfe

Major Support

The Bernard Osher Foundation
The Diana Dollar Knowles Foundation 

Significant Support

Dagmar Dolby

Generous Support

The Charles D. and Frances K. Field Fund
Lynn and Edward Poole

Additional support is provided by Leslee and Roger Budge, Cathy and Howard Moreland, Elizabeth D. Moyer, Ph.D. and Michael C. Powanda, Ph.D, Jan and Bob Newman, Christina Ongerth, Bernard and Jane von Bothmer, in honor of the late Bernard V. Bothmer, and Sheila Wishek.

Currently on view