 The recent (April, 2009) re-launch of the the Egyptian exhibition at Highclere Castle by Lord and Lady Carnarvon represents the third in a line of displays of the Carnarvon family`s collection of ancient art, and I wish it every success.
Highclere`s first modern display was located in the old Music Room at the Castle, situated between the Library and the Drawing Room (which itself, until the 1920s, served as the fifth Earl`s Collection Room). Here, within period cases, I designed and executed a chronologically arranged survey of the Carter-Carnarvon years in preparation for the first-ever public opening of Highclere on 3 July 1984. Very much in keeping with its elegant surroundings, it regrettably proved a victim of its own success, with visitors spending so much time viewing the objects that queues tailed back beyond the front door, often into the rain.
For the following season, therefore, I was commissioned by the late seventh Earl to design and execute a completely new display of the Egyptian collections in the Castle`s cellars, converting the damp alcoves of the former "Knife Room" (a dedicated facility for sharpening the Castle knives!) into a purpose-built, climate-controlled, exhibition centre which served well for twenty years. Photographs of this recently dismantled second display are posted here.
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