The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg held a gala Friday night to celebrate the opening of its newest exhibit, Ancient Egypt — Art and Magic: Treasures from the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art. The members-only event included actors portraying ancient Egyptians. The museum is calling it one of the most extraordinary exhibitions in its history.

Patrons enjoyed viewing vases of alabaster from Dynasty XVIII 1554-1305 BC. These delicate pieces have a very contemporary look and were most likely used for ritual oils or perfumes.

The exhibit, with guest curator Dr. Robert Bianchi, displays 101 masterpieces from one of the world’s most important private collections of Egyptian antiquities. The collection, once owned by private collector Jean Claude Gandur, is now housed in Geneva. The exhibition represents a small percentage of the more than 800 items in the entire collection.

A fascinating fact: Very few of the objects have been restored, and the pieces are in extraordinary shape, considering some of them date back to 5500 BC and cover 30 dynasties right up to the fall of Egypt in 30 BC.

Dr. Robert Bianchi, guest curator, enthusiastically describes the origins and history of many of the 101 pieces.