‘The Donald Trump of ancient Egypt’: Ramses II’s ego on display

The mummy of Egypt’s most ambitious pharaoh, Ramses II (often spelt Ramesses), is a masterpiece of the embalmer’s art. The amazingly preserved 3,000‑year‑old face with its proud, beaky nose looks much as it must have when he died at the age of 90 or 91, after ruling for 66 years, fathering more than 100 children, smiting his enemies and making ancient Egypt great again.

Even before you notice how his hand seems to reach forward to grasp spookily at power from beyond the grave, his presence is unmistakable. There is a fresh chance for Ramses to make his mark: Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold, an exhibition of his treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, comes to Battersea power station in south‑west London.

You won’t see his mummy, but the coffin in which it was found is on display, alongside gold‑plated masks and a colossus of the pharaoh. When it came to honouring himself, Ramses left few limits.

United Kingdom, Battersea, London

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