Gilded outer coffin lid of Thuya, with blue-inlaid eyes and striped headdress

Treasures of the Pharaohs

Now showing1 August 2026 – 31 January 2027$40

130 royal treasures and antiquities spanning 3,000 years, lent by the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Luxor Museum, including the US debut of finds from the Golden City.

Exhibition website Book tickets

More in San Francisco

On now All of October 2026

The Necklace of Ahhotep carries three gold flies, and they are not decoration: Egypt awarded them for bravery. It hangs among 130 works spanning 3,000 years, lent by the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Luxor Museum.

The show starts with the pharaoh as both king and god, then widens to the court, belief, the afterlife and everyday tomb goods like cosmetics and furniture. It ends with the US debut of objects from the Golden City, a workers' town near Luxor that was suddenly abandoned, a moment the museum compares to Pompeii. Curator Tarek el Awady told Mission Local: "This may be your first and last opportunity to have a look at this jewelry." The flies were a bravery award, which is more than you got for surviving the N Judah in the rain.

Tickets are timed, $40 for adults. School groups fill the galleries 9:30 am to 1:30 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Guided tours run Tuesday to Sunday at 11:30 am.

Editor's pick

The three gold flies on the Necklace of Ahhotep were an award for bravery. They hang among 130 loans from Cairo and Luxor, including an 11-pound gold collar, ending on finds from the Golden City making their US debut.

Look for

Outer coffin lid of Thuya
A gilded wooden lid with eyes of obsidian and blue glass inlay, from the Valley of the Kings tomb of Yuya and Thuya.
Collar of Psusennes I
A collar of 11 pounds of solid gold, described as the heaviest piece of jewelry from the ancient world.
Family statue of Sennefer
Black granite figures of the mayor Sennefer, his wife Senetnay and their daughter Mutnefret, found in Luxor in 1903.
Gold mummy cover of Psusennes I
A gold cover shown with five gold toe caps made to protect the king in the afterlife.
Gilded chair of Princess Sitamun
A gilded wooden chair from the reign of Amenhotep III, in the section on royal life.