Morocco
5000 years of culture
In the winter of 2004-2005, De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam will organize the ambitious exhibition "Morocco - 5000 years of culture", with singular objects from many of Morocco's top museums and libraries. The exhibition, which opens December 17th, 2004, kicks off the 2005 celebrations marking 400 years of relations between Morocco and the Netherlands.
For this sweeping exhibition, De Nieuwe Kerk forged an agreement with the Moroccan Ministry of Cultural Affairs that secured the collaboration of museums in Rabat, Tangier, Marrakech, Tétouan, Fès, Meknès, Larache, Laâyoune, Essaouira, the excavations at Volubilis, and the Royal and National Libraries. These institutions will provide over 300 of their finest pieces on loan to De Nieuwe Kerk to make this extraordinary exhibition possible. The Morocco exhibition will run from December 17, 2004, through April 17, 2005.
The exhibition in De Nieuwe Kerk is arranged both chronologically and thematically. It begins with the Morocco of pre-Islamic times, with remarkable objects that are thousands of years old, jewelry of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, as well as spectacular bronzes from the period of Roman rule, found at archeological sites such as Lixus and Volubilis. Morocco after the arrival of Islam focuses on topics like intellectual life (with manuscripts and astrolabes), the coexistence of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and culture and ethnography (court life, celebrations, traditional practices, etc.) Fine examples of Moroccan handiwork and craftsmanship are exhibited here, including the famed earthenware, exquisite woodcarvings on doors, furniture, and windowframes, unique jewelry and finery, and intricate carpets.
His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco and His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange both serve as patrons of the exhibition.
