[set both at 11/2  col]

Sculptor’s model of the head and forelegs of a lion used as a gargoyle, late period or Ptolemaic Period (664–332 BC or 332–30 BC), limestone. Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, Brooklyn Museum.

The Goddess Isis as Magician, Roman Period (probably First Century), bronze. Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, Brooklyn Museum.

FOR 12-8

BROOKLYN MUSEUM PRESENTS ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MAGIC w/2 cuts

wd/gs set 11-28 #678795

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — “Ancient Egyptian Magic: Manipulating Image, Word, and Reality,” an exhibition of 20 objects from the Brooklyn Museum’s ancient Egyptian art collection, explores how the Egyptians, known throughout the ancient world for their expertise in magic, addressed the unknown forces of the universe. The exhibition is currently on view through August 12.

In ancient Egypt there was no distinction between religion and magic. The gods could use a divinely created force known as Heqa, personified as the son of the solar creator Atum, to control and sustain the universe. Through the manipulation of written words, images, speech and ritual, humans could also use Heqa to influence the world and solve problems.

Included in “Ancient Egyptian Magic” are a relief depicting Prince Khaemwaset, a son of Ramesses II who became a legendary sage and magician; a bronze of the Goddess Isis (shown holding a divine cobra), considered to have great magical powers; a magical healing stela inspired by myths of Isis healing Horus of scorpion stings and snakebites; and a headrest with images of Bes and Tawaret, deities believed to protect the dead and the living.

The exhibition also examines the close links between magic and medicine, including the idea that a cure could be achieved by swallowing a liquid over which a spell had been recited, and the use of magic after death through such objects as shabtis: funerary figurines created to do any work the gods might demand of the deceased in the afterlife.

The Brooklyn Museum is at 200 Eastern Parkway. For information, 718-638-5000 or www.brooklynmuseum.org.