2025 FALL LECTURES
An innovative and captivatingly expressive corpus of funerary statues appeared during the Late Old Kingdom at Saqqara. These were representative of an artistic phenomenon that has been called the “Second Style,” and that was found to extend to reliefs in tombs. This lecture will discuss the occurrence of the Second Style at Saqqara from the Fifth Dynasty into the First Intermediate Period, as well as other developments which took place contemporaneously in funerary representations, such as the emergence of nude statues and changes to the depiction of female figures.
Bio:
Dr. Valentina Anselmi is a recent PhD in the Graduate Program in Egyptology at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Her dissertation, An Investigation of the So-Called Second Style at Saqqara in the Later Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period, examines shifts in artistic conventions during a critical time in ancient Egyptian history. With an M.Phil. in Egyptology from Penn and a B.A. from the American University in Cairo, she has also received the Felix J. Korsyn Prize in Egyptology. Her teaching experience includes courses on Art and Architecture in Ancient Egypt and Coptic. Her research and public engagement work include fieldwork at Abydos, a recently published article on a Ka-statue at the Glencairn Museum, and ongoing museum experience at the Penn Museum. Her work also explored the use of 3D imagining to better understand the nature of Egyptian art.
Dr. Valentina Anselmi, University of Pennsylvania
"The Second Style at Saqqara during the Late Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period: Results of an Investigation and New Observations"
Isabella Pilla, Rowan University
"More Than a Cosmetic Fix: How Experimental Archaeology Can Address the Issue of Burial Goods in the Museum Setting"
Entrance fees for ARCE-PA In-Person Lectures are:
$10 for the general public
$7 for Penn Museum members/Penn Staff/Penn Faculty
$5 for Students with ID
FREE for ARCE-PA Members, ARCE Members, & children under 12, unless otherwise stated.
All ARCE-PA entry fees will be taken at the door only of the lecture venue at the ARCE-PA table.
Light refreshments will be served starting at 3 pm.
Per the Penn Museum COVID-19 protocols, masks are optional.
If you are interested in joining ARCE or need to renew your membership*, please visit:
https://www.arce.org/membership
*Please do not forget to associate with the "Pennsylvania Chapter" in order to stay up to date with ARCE-PA events.
