Abirpothi

India’s only daily art newspaper

Archeologists have uncovered the oldest mummy ever found in Egypt

A SUMMARY OF THE MOST EXCITING ART NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

While we focus on Indian art, we can’t obviously function in a vacuum. It’s a small world and everything is connected, especially on the web. So, let’s train our spotlight across the world map to see what’s going on — from art trends to socio-political issues to everything that affects the great aesthetic global consciousness. Or, let’s just travel the world and have some fun!

Remains of Indigenous people still with U.S. Museums and universities

American Museum of National History in New York
Courtesy- Art News

ProPublica’s “Repatriation Project” has revealed that several museums and universities across the U.S. hold the remains of Indigenous people in their permanent collections three decades after a U.S. law was passed requiring their return. The project, conducted jointly withNBC News, includes a public database cataloging an estimated 100,000 Native American remains that are held in collections spanning museums, universities, and government agencies. The investigation examines an apparent lull in national repatriation efforts after the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was passed in 1990. The legal move forced museums in the U.S. backed with government funding to review their collections for Indigenous remains and initiate their returns. The investigation found that some museums have utilized a legal loophole in the NAGPRA act that allows requests for items labeled by museum officials as “culturally unidentifiable” to be indefinitely stalled. Read more on Art News.

Archeologists have uncovered the oldest mummy ever found in Egypt

Archeologist Zahi Hawass and 10 assistants found the 4,300-year-old mummy
Courtesy- CNN
The 4,300-year-old mummy was a rich, important 35-year-old man called Djed Sepsh, archaeologist Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former antiquities minister, told CNN Friday. “It is the oldest mummy, complete and covered in gold, ever found in Egypt,” he said, adding that it was “the most amazing discovery.” Hawass said he and a team of 10 assistants discovered the mummified man 20 meters (66 feet) underground at the Gisr el-Mudir enclosure, in the shadow of the ancient Step Pyramid of Djoser in the village of Saqqara. The mummy was in a 25-tonne stone coffin — with the lid alone weighing five tonnes — in one of the shafts the team entered, according to Hawass. He said when the team opened the lid, they found the “oldest, most beautiful mummy covered in layers of gold, with a band on the head and a bracelet on the chest, which indicates this was a rich man.” Details on CNN.

Huang Yongyu designs controversial year of the rabbit stamp

Huang Yongyu’s Year of the Rabbit stamp
Courtesy- Art News

Every Lunar New Year, several postal service companies around the world release stamps commemorating characters from the Chinese zodiac calendar. However, this year’s designs by the nearly-100-year-old artist Huang Yongyu for the China Post received especially harsh reviews online, with users hurling terms like “horrific,” “evil,” and “scary” at it. The China Post printed two designs by Huang to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The one titled “The Rabbit Sending Blessings” depicts of a bright blue rabbit, with bright red glowing eyes and pale, human-like hands, holding a pen and a letter. The second, titled “Endless Cycle for Vitality,” depicts three rabbits running in a circle. A press release from the China Post said Huang produced his images “in a natural, witty and dynamic style,” with the image of the blue rabbit meant to convey “the meaning that Chinese people will work together to draw a grand ‘blueprint’ of China in the coming year.” Read more on Art News.