March 17, 2011

by  Deborah Rieselman

The world of Cleopatra was nearly lost after the Romans attempted to destroy her legacy. Eventually, any remaining artifacts in the ancient city of Alexandria became buried under later civilizations and submerged by earthquakes into the Mediterranean Sea. But Georg Rosenbauer, MBA '62, has been instrumental in excavating her underwater treasures, which are now on exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center as part of a national tour.

Rosenbauer came to the University of Cincinnati from Germany on a scholarship to earn a degree that had him curious -- an MBA. "These degrees were still new in 1960," he says. "No one knew anything about them in Germany."

His education led him to a successful career in global corporations, including Pillsbury as general manager in Germany; RJReynolds as chairman of RJR Germany, then president and CEO of RJReynolds International; and eventually the Hilti Corp., a Liechtenstein-based company that produces products, systems and services for the construction industry. After joining the company in 1984, he served as president of Hilti US, chairman of Hilti Western Hemisphere and a member of the Hilti Foundation Executive Council. In the latter position, he discovered Franck Goddio, who had developed a systematic approach to underwater archeology and needed funding to excavate sunken cities off the Egyptian coast.

Since 1996, the Hilti Foundation, represented by Rosenbauer, has sponsored Goddio's work. Now retired, Rosenbauer came to Cincinnati with Goddio for the opening of the exhibit — "Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt" — at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Accompanying the UC alumnus on his first visit in 15 years was his wife, Eva, Ed '69. They live at Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

In the video above, Rosenbauer explains the importance of some of the artifacts in the exhibit and why they are in such good condition.

Cincinnati Museum Center (the old Union Terminal)

Dates — through Sept. 5, 2011

Special lecture — "Alexandria During the First Century B.C.," by Peter van Minnen, UC classics department head, June 16

National tour — Three other cities on tour to be announced later (check the National Geographic website for updates)

Exhibit highlights:

• nearly 150 artifacts from Cleopatra’s lifetime, 69-30 B.C.
• a bronze coin bearing her face
• gold jewelry she might have worn
• the only known sample of what scientist believe is Cleopatra's handwriting on a papyrus document, discovered by Peter van Minnen, UC classics department head
• two sphinxes that guarded her private temple at her palace
• a headless larger-than-life statue dressed as the goddess Isis and featuring usual sculptural quality for the era
• two 16-foot red-granite statues that guarded the temple where Cleopatra was crowned