More than 3,000 years after his reign, and 30 years after the original exhibition opened in San Francisco, Tutankhamun, ancient Egypt’s celebrated “boy king,” returns to the de Young Museum. Beginning today, the de Young presents Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, a glorious exhibition of over 130 outstanding works from the tomb of Tutankhamun, as well as those of his royal predecessors, his family, and court officials.
On view through March 28, 2010 at the de Young, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs provides insight into the life of Tutankhamun and other royals of the 18th Dynasty (1555–1305 BC). All of the treasures in the exhibition are more than 3,000 years old.
Tutankhamun was one of the last kings of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty and ruled during a crucial, turmoil-filled period of Egyptian history. The boy king died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 18 or 19, in the ninth year of his reign (1322 BC). Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings was filled with magnificent treasures meant to ensure his divine immortality. Many objects belonging to the young king—exquisite personal items used in his daily life—were placed in it.
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs offers glimpses of that critical period in Egyptian history. On display are 50 of Tutankhamun’s burial objects, including one of the gold and precious stone inlaid canopic coffinettes that contained his mummified internal organs. Also included are many of the day-to-day objects enjoyed by the young king, including a finely crafted child’s chair and an inlaid game board, one of four in the tomb, clearly representing an activity enjoyed by the king.
New to the encore tour of the exhibition are two nested coffinettes that contained the remains of two fetuses that are now undergoing DNA testing to reveal their relationship to King Tut. Also new to the exhibition from Tutankhamun’s tomb is a beautiful scarab bracelet featuring a central image of a beetle representing the sun god. An elaborate pectoral, a masterpiece of jewelry making, contains a rare, yellow-green glass stone carved in the shape of a scarab beetle that some scientists believe to be a fragment of an ancient meteorite.
More than 80 additional objects from tombs of 18th Dynasty royals, as well the possessions of elite individuals with close connections to the royal family are also exhibited. These stone, faience and wooden pieces from burial sites before Tut’s reign give visitors a sense of what the burials of both royalty and the elite may have been like and what the Egyptians of that time considered essential for the afterlife.
The exhibit is an absolutely fascinating portal into the past. For more information on the exhibit and on tickets, click here.
And if after viewing this amazing exhibition, you’re inspired to explore ancient — and modern — Egypt in Egypt itself, consider signing up for Lindblad Expeditions’ Exploring Egypt, a 10-day cruise from Cairo along the Nile with distinguished Egyptologists who will illuminate ancient and contemporary Egyptian beliefs and rites. Even better, select departures are available at a 25 percent savings now! Bon voyage!
Filed under: News and notes | Tagged: don george, san francisco, lindblad, king tut, de young museum, egypt
