Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Oldest Exhibit Immortalized in Globe Now Available for Purchase
The museum’s exhibit Arab Courier Attacked by Lions is first in
planned Museum Memories snow globe series

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania… For more than a century, the dramatic scene Arab Courier Attacked by Lions at Carnegie Museum of Natural History has captivated visitors young and old. Now you can purchase a replica of this historic Pittsburgh icon in the form of a limited edition snow globe—or, perhaps more appropriately, “sand globe”—and have a version of this museum treasure for your own. The museum is now taking pre-orders for the globes at $39.95 each. To order, visit the Natural History Store, call 412.622.3309, or order online at www.naturalhistorystore.com. Gift certificates for the globes are also available for purchase. Quantities are limited.

Each globe features the exhibit Arab Courier Attacked by Lions in miniature, including the camel and its rider as well as two Barbary lions—now extinct in the wild—posed as they appear in the exhibit. Instead of traditional snowflakes, the globe, when shaken, produces a sand storm that surrounds the courier and animals. The globe is positioned atop a brown base bearing text on three lines: CARNEGIE MUSEUM MEMORIES, Arab Courier Attacked by Lions, 2010.

The 2010 Museum Memories’ sand globe is the first iteration of a planned series of globes based on Carnegie Museum of Natural History exhibitions. Next year, the museum will release a snow globe of “Dippy”—Diplodocus carnegii—named for Andrew Carnegie and distinguished as the first dinosaur in the museum’s collection.

About Arab Courier Attacked by Lions

Arab Courier Attacked by Lions was constructed by the renowned French exhibit fabricator Jules Verreaux for the Paris Exposition of 1867, where the extraordinary composition was awarded a gold medal. In 1869, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City purchased Arab Courier. While the public praised the exhibit, museum staff found the theatrical display ill-suited to an institution devoted to science, and decided in 1898 to dispose of it. AMNH Curator Joseph Allen realized the historical and artistic value of the diorama, and knew that Andrew Carnegie's new museum in Pittsburgh was in need of impressive exhibitions. Carnegie purchased the display for $50. Arab Courier went on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1899 and has been one of the museum’s most beloved displays ever since.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is ranked among the top five natural history museums in the country. It maintains, preserves, and interprets an extraordinary collection of 20 million objects and scientific specimens used to broaden understanding of evolution, conservation, and biodiversity. More information is available by calling 412.622.3131 or by visiting the Web site, www.carnegiemnh.org.

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