The King is Back
Egypt's
fabulous King Tut exhibit is back and bigger than ever. The
previous King Tut touring expo was a huge success with more
than 8 Million visitors, and museum operators expect record
crowds for the new, expanded version.
The exhibition is now on display at the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art through November 15; at the Fort Lauderdale
Museum of Art from December 15 through April 23, 2006; at
Chicago's Field Museum from May 26 through January 1, 2007;
and at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute from February 3 through
September 30, 2007. The Los Angeles exhibit has already opened,
and ticket sales have begun for Fort Lauderdale; the box offices
will open soon for Chicago, later for Philadelphia.
The King's Discovery
Tutankhamun
was one of the last kings of Egypt's 18th Dynasty and ruled
during a crucial, turmoil-filled period of Egyptian history.
He died under mysterious circumstances in 1323 B.C., in the
ninth year of his reign. He was probably only about 18 or
19 when he died. Some Egyptologists believe he was murdered
by his successor, Ay.
The exhibition will place fifty of Tutankhamun's burial objects
found when Howard Carter discovered the tomb in 1922 in their
historical, religious and sociopolitical context to show the
changes occurring in Egypt in the late 18th Dynasty (1555
B.C. to 1305 B.C.). Key items include Tutankhamun's royal
diadem - the gold crown discovered encircling the head of
the king's mummified body that he likely wore while living
- and one of the gold and precious stone inlaid canopic coffinettes
that contained his mummified internal organs.
Treasures on Display
The
exhibition also will include more than 70 objects from tombs
of other 18th Dynasty royals as well as several non-royal
individuals. These stone, faience and wooden pieces from burials
before Tut's reign will give visitors a sense of what the
lost burials of other royalty and commoners may have been
like. All of the treasures in the exhibit are between 3,300
and 3,500 years old.
The gallery of more than 130 treasures from Tutankhamun's
tomb, other Valley of the Kings tombs and additional ancient
Egyptian sites will take visitors back in time with inventive
design to explore and experience the world and times of King
Tutankhamun and his contemporaries.
|
|
Pyramids
