![Tutankhamun scarab1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Tutankhamun_scarab1.jpg)
Exhibitions of artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun have been held at museums in several countries, notably the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States, Canada, Japan, and France.
The
artifacts had sparked widespread interest in
ancient Egypt when they were
discovered between 1922 and 1927, but most of them remained in the
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display a ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
until the 1960s, when they were first exhibited outside of Egypt.
Because of these exhibitions, relics from the
tomb of Tutankhamun
The tomb of Tutankhamun, also known by its tomb number, KV62, is the burial place of Tutankhamun (reigned c. 1334–1325 BC), a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb consists of four chambers ...
are among the most travelled artifacts in the world. Probably the best-known tour was the ''Treasures of Tutankhamun'' from 1972 until 1981.
Other exhibitions have included ''Tutankhamun Treasures'' in 1961 and 1967, ''Tutankhamen: The Golden Hereafter'' beginning in 2022
, ''Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs'' beginning in 2005, and ''Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs'' in 2008. Permanent exhibitions include the ''Tutankhamun Exhibition'' in
Dorchester, United Kingdom, which contains replicas of many artifacts.
Ownership and normal display
![GD-EG-Caire-Musée127](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/GD-EG-Caire-Mus%C3%A9e127.JPG)
All of the artifacts exhumed from the Tutankhamun tomb are, by international convention, considered property of the Egyptian government. Consequently, these pieces are normally kept at the
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display a ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
; the only way for them to be shown internationally is by approval of Egyptian authorities. Although journalists and government officials generally support the tours, some Egyptians argue that the artifacts should remain on display in their own country, where Egyptian school-children would have greater access to them, and where the museum's exhibit would attract foreign tourists.
[
]
''Tutankhamun Treasure'' (1961–1967)
The first travelling exhibition of a substantial number of Tutankhamun artifacts took place from 1961 to 1966. The exhibition, titled ''Tutankhamun Treasures'', initially featured 34 smaller pieces made of gold, alabaster, glass, and similar materials.["Tutankhamun Treasures", ''Art international: Volume 6'' (1962), p. 51.] The portions of the exhibition occurring in the United States were arranged by the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
and organized by Dr. Froelich Rainey, Director of the , with the assistance of Dr. Sarwat Okasha, Minister of Culture and National Guidance of the United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
. The exhibit travelled to 18 cities in the United States and six in Canada.
The exhibition had a public purpose in mind, to "stimulate public interest in the UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
-sponsored salvage program for Nubian monuments threatened by the Aswan Dam
The Aswan Dam, or more specifically since the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. Its significance largely eclipsed the previous Aswan L ...
project".[Institute of International Education, ''Overseas: Volume 1'' (1961), p. 31.] The exhibition opened in November 1961 at the Smithsonian's National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C.
Other museums to host the exhibition
The exhibition was shown in eighteen cities in the United States, and in six cities in Canada, including Winnipeg at the Manitoba Legislature, Vancouver, Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, and Ottawa.[ Other stops on the tour included:
*, ]Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Pennsylvania (December 15, 1961–January 14, 1962)[Smithsonian Institution, ''Tutankhamun Treasures: A Loan Exhibition from the Department of Antiquities of the United Arab Republic'' (1961).]
*Peabody Museum of Natural History
The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University is among the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Oth ...
, New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
, Connecticut (February 1–28, 1962)
* Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, Texas (March 15–April 15, 1962)
*Joslyn Art Museum
The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States. Located in Omaha, it was opened in 1931 at the initiative of Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn. It is the only m ...
, Omaha, Nebraska (May 1–31, 1962)[Midwest Museums Conference, ''Midwest Museums Quarterly: Volumes 21–28'' (1961), p.34.]
* Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, Illinois (June 15–July 15, 1962)
*Seattle Art Museum
The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park on Cap ...
, Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
(August 1–31, 1962)
*California Palace of the Legion of Honor
The Legion of Honor, formally known as the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, is an art museum in San Francisco, California. Located in Lincoln Park, the Legion of Honor is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which a ...
, San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, California (September 15–October 14, 1962)
*Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 19 ...
, Los Angeles, California (October 30–November 30, 1962)
*Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...
, Cleveland, Ohio (December 15, 1962–January 13, 1963)
* Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
(February 1–28, 1963)
* City Art Museum of St. Louis, St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, (March 15–April 14, 1963)
*Walters Art Gallery
The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
, Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, (May 1–31, 1963)
* Dayton Art Institute, Dayton
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, (June 15–July 15, 1963)
*Toledo Museum of Art
The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...
, Toledo, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, (September 15–October 15, 1963)
*Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan (exact date unknown. From personal memory and article by Steven Rosen, Los Angeles City Beat, 2005)
* Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario (November 6–December 6, 1964)
The exhibit was also part of 1964 World's Fair
The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...
held in New York, United Arab Republic Pavilion (April 22–October 18, 1964)
Japan (1965–1966)
From 1965 to 1966 an enlarged version of the 1961–1963 North America tour took place in Japan. The Japanese exhibition saw nearly 3 million visitors.[
* ]Tokyo National Museum
The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage ( :ja:国立文化財機構), is considered the oldest national museum in Japan, ...
, Tokyo, Japan (August 21–October 1965)
* Kyoto, Japan (October–November 1965)
* Fukuoka Prefectural Culture Center, Fukuoka, Japan (December 1965–January 1966)
France (1967)
The French exhibit saw an attendance of 1,240,975 (It was titled ''Tutankhamun and His Time'' and had 45 pieces on display)
* Petit Palais
The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France.
Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...
, Paris, France (February 17–September 4, 1967)
''The Treasures of Tutankhamun'' (1972–1981)
The genesis of the ''Treasures of Tutankhamun'' exhibition reflected the changing dynamic of Middle-East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
relations.
United Kingdom
It was first shown in London at the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 1972. After a year of negotiations between Egypt and the United Kingdom, an agreement was signed in July 1971. Altogether, 50 pieces were chosen by the directors of the British Museum and the Cairo Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display ...
to be shown at the exhibition, including 17 never before displayed outside Egypt. For insurance purposes, the items were valued at £9.06 million. In January 1972, they were transported to London on two civilian flights and one by the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
, carrying, among other objects, the gold death mask of Tutankhamun. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the exhibition on March 29, 1972. More than 30,000 people visited in its first week. By September, 800,000 had been to the exhibition, and its duration was extended by three months because of the popularity. When it did close on December 31, 1972, 1.6 million visitors had passed through the exhibition doors. All profits (£600,000) were donated to UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
for conserving the temples at Philae
; ar, فيلة; cop, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ
, alternate_name =
, image = File:File, Asuán, Egipto, 2022-04-01, DD 93.jpg
, alt =
, caption = The temple of Isis from Philae at its current location on Agilkia Island in Lake Nasse ...
, Egypt.
''Treasures of Tutankhamun'' was the most popular exhibition in the museum's history. It is considered a landmark achievement in Egypt–United Kingdom relations. The exhibition moved on to other countries, including the USSR, US, Canada, and West Germany.
United States
Egyptian cultural officials initially stalled prospects of an American tour, as Egypt was then more closely aligned with the Soviet Union, where fifty pieces had toured in 1973. However, relations thawed later that year when the U.S. interceded following the Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...
to sponsor a ceasefire and consequently a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. U.S. president Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
thereafter visited Egypt, becoming the first American President to do so since the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, and personally prevailed upon Egyptian president Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...
to permit the artifacts to tour the United States – with the U.S. tour including one more city than the Soviet tour had included, and several additional pieces. The showing was the largest of Tutankhamun's artifacts, with 53 pieces.[
]The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
organized the U.S. exhibition, which ran from November 17, 1976, through September 30, 1979. More than eight million attended. The Metropolitan's exhibition was designed to recreate for visitors the drama of the 1922 discovery of the treasure-filled tomb. Included along with original objects excavated from the tomb were reprints from glass plate negatives in the Metropolitan’s collection of the expedition photographer Harry Burton's photographs documenting the excavation's discoveries step by step. The Smithsonian described the exhibit as one of the initial "blockbuster exhibits" which sparked the museum community's interest in such exhibitions.[
After the six U.S. tour locations were named, San Francisco citizens bombarded the Mayor's Office with inquiries as to why the tour was not coming there. As a result, museum trustees flew to Egypt to meet with the ]Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display a ...
in Cairo, where they worked out a mutual agreement for a seventh stop. Profits after exhibition expenses resulted in $10+ million going to the Egyptian Museum for refurbishing.
Other museums to host the exhibition
After the exhibition left London in 1972, it toured the USSR from 1973–1975.
* Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow (December 1973–May 1974)
*Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest ...
, Saint Petersburg (July 1974–November 1974)
*National Art Museum of Ukraine
The National Art Museum of Ukraine ( uk, Національний Художній Музей України) is a museum dedicated to Ukrainian art in Kyiv, Ukraine.
History
The National Art Museum of Ukraine, which was the first museum in Ky ...
, Kiev (January 1975–March 1975)
During the years 1976 to 1979 the exhibition was shown in the United States. While at the following venues, the exhibit attracted more than eight million visitors: (NGA)
* National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (November 17, 1976–March 15, 1977) – 836,000 visitors in over 117 days
* Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, Illinois (April 14–August 15, 1977)
*New Orleans Museum of Art
The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the ...
(September 15, 1977–January 15, 1978)
*Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 19 ...
(February 15–June 15, 1978)
*Seattle Art Museum
The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park on Cap ...
(July 15–November 15, 1978)
*Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York City (December 15, 1978–April 15, 1979)
* M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, California (June 11–September 30, 1979)
After the exhibit left the U.S. it went to:
* Art Gallery of Ontario
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Bev ...
, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (November 1–December 31, 1979)
* Egyptian Museum of Berlin
The Egyptian Museum of Berlin (german: Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung) is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the iconic Nefertiti Bust. Since 1855, the collection is a part of t ...
, Berlin, West Germany (February 16–May 26, 1980)
* Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, Cologne, West Germany (June 21–October 19, 1980)
* Haus der Kunst, Munich, West Germany (November 22–February 1, 1981)
* Kestner-Museum
Museum August Kestner, previously ''Kestner-Museum'', is a museum in Hanover, Germany. It was founded in 1889. The museum was renamed ''Museum August Kestner'' in December 2007 to avoid confusion with the Kestnergesellschaft, a local art gallery. ...
, Hanover, West Germany (February 20–April 26, 1981)
* Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, West Germany (May 15–July 19, 1981)
While the exhibition was on display in San Francisco, Police Lieutenant George E. LaBrash suffered a minor stroke as he guarded the treasures after hours. He later filed a lawsuit against the city on the theory that his injury had resulted from the legendary curse of the pharaohs
The curse of the pharaohs or the mummy's curse is a curse alleged to be cast upon anyone who disturbs the mummy of an ancient Egyptian, especially a pharaoh. This curse, which does not differentiate between thieves and archaeologists, is claime ...
.
''Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs'' (2004-2011)
Originally entitled ''Tutankhamen: The Golden Hereafter'', this exhibition is made up of fifty artifacts from Tutenkhamun's tomb as well as seventy funerary goods from other 18th Dynasty tombs. The tour of the exhibition began in 2004 in Basel, Switzerland
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
and went to Bonn, Germany
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr ...
on the second leg. The European tour was organized by the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), and the Egyptian Museum in cooperation with the Antikenmuseum Basel
The Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig (Basel Museum of Ancient Art and Ludwig Collection) is one of the many museums in the city of Basel, Switzerland and a heritage site of national significance. In 1961 the city of Basel decided to estab ...
and Sammlung Ludwig. Deutsche Telekom sponsored the Bonn exhibition.
''Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs'' consists of the same items from the Germany and Switzerland tour but in a slightly different exhibition. Of the 50 artifacts from the Tutankhamun tomb fewer than ten were repeated from the 1970s exhibition. This exhibition began in 2005, and was directed by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, together with Arts and Exhibitions International and the National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...
.
Exhibition overview
The initial American leg of the ''Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs'' exhibition attracted estimated three million visitors, and was displayed in the following venues:
*Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 19 ...
(June 16–November 15, 2005)
*Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale
The NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale is an art museum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Originating in 1958 as the ''Fort Lauderdale Art Center'', the museum is now located in an modernist building designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes. The current buildin ...
(December 15, 2005–April 23, 2006)
* Field Museum of Natural History (May 26, 2006–January 1, 2007)
*Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...
(February 3–September 30, 2007)
From November 15, 2007, to August 31, 2008, the exhibition was shown in The O2
The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely withi ...
, London. It then stayed for eight months in Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas, at the Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...
(October 2008–May 2009), and for nine months at the De Young Museum
The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park, it is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with the California Pala ...
in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
from June 27, 2009, to March 28, 2010. From April 23, 2010, to January 11, 2011, the exhibition was shown at the Discovery Times Square Exposition
Discovery Times Square (also known as Discovery TSX) was an exhibition space at 226 West 44th Street in New York City that opened June 24, 2009 and closed in September 2016. It specialized in traveling exhibitions with 60,000 square feet of exhibit ...
in New York City.
In 2011 the exhibition visited Australia for the first time, opening at the Melbourne Museum
The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.
Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of the Government of Victoria, ...
in April for its only Australian stop where it achieved the highest touring exhibition box office numbers in the country's history before Egypt's treasures return to Cairo in December 2011.
Artifacts on display
''Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs'' displays actual items excavated from tombs of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. From 130 authentic artifacts presented, 50 were found specifically during the excavations of Tutankhamun's tomb. The exhibition includes 80 exhibits from the reigns of Tutankhamun's immediate predecessors in the Eighteenth dynasty, such as Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut (; also Hatchepsut; Egyptian: '' ḥꜣt- špswt'' "Foremost of Noble Ladies"; or Hatasu c. 1507–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, af ...
, whose trade policies greatly increased the wealth of that dynasty and enabled the lavish wealth of Tutankhamun's burial artifacts. Other items were taken from other royal graves of the 18th Dynasty (dating 1555 BCE
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
to 1305 BCE
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
) spanning Pharaohs Amenhotep II
Amenhotep II (sometimes called ''Amenophis II'' and meaning '' Amun is Satisfied'') was the seventh pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Amenhotep inherited a vast kingdom from his father Thutmose III, and held it by means of a few milit ...
, Amenhotep III and Thutmose IV
Thutmose IV (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis IV, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; egy, ḏḥwti.msi(.w) "Thoth is born") was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately the 14th century ...
, among others. Items from the largely intact tomb of Yuya
Yuya (sometimes Iouiya, or Yuaa, also known as Yaa, Ya, Yiya, Yayi, Yu, Yuyu, Yaya, Yiay, Yia, and Yuy) was a powerful ancient Egyptian courtier during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (circa 1390 BC). He was married to Thuya, an Egyptian noble ...
and Tjuyu
Thuya (sometimes transliterated as Touiyou, Thuiu, Tuya, Tjuyu or Thuyu) was an Egyptian noblewoman and the mother of queen Tiye, and the wife of Yuya. She is the grandmother of Akhenaten, and great grandmother of Tutankhamun.
Biography
Thu ...
(King Tut's great-grandparents; the parents of Tiye
Tiye (c. 1398 BC – 1338 BC, also spelled Tye, Taia, Tiy and Tiyi) was the daughter of Yuya and Thuya. She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III. She was the mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun. ...
who was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III) are also included. Yuya
Yuya (sometimes Iouiya, or Yuaa, also known as Yaa, Ya, Yiya, Yayi, Yu, Yuyu, Yaya, Yiay, Yia, and Yuy) was a powerful ancient Egyptian courtier during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (circa 1390 BC). He was married to Thuya, an Egyptian noble ...
and Tjuyu
Thuya (sometimes transliterated as Touiyou, Thuiu, Tuya, Tjuyu or Thuyu) was an Egyptian noblewoman and the mother of queen Tiye, and the wife of Yuya. She is the grandmother of Akhenaten, and great grandmother of Tutankhamun.
Biography
Thu ...
's tomb was one of the most celebrated historical finds in the Valley of the Kings until Howard Carter's discovery in 1922. This exhibition does not include either the gold death mask that was a popular exhibit from ''The Treasures of Tutankhamun'' exhibition, or the mummy itself. The Egyptian Government has determined that these artifacts are too fragile to withstand travel, and thus they will permanently remain in Egypt. The mummy of Tutankhamun is the only known mummy in the Valley Of The Kings to still lie in its original tomb, KV62
The tomb of Tutankhamun, also known by its tomb number, KV62, is the burial place of Tutankhamun (reigned c. 1334–1325 BC), a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb ...
.
History
''Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs'' was expected to draw more than three million people. The exhibition started in Los Angeles, California, then moved to Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, Florida, Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. The exhibition then moved to London before finally returning to Egypt in August 2008. Subsequent events have propelled an encore of the exhibition in the United States, beginning with the Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...
in October 2008 which hosted the exhibition until May 2009. The tour continued to other U.S. cities. After Dallas the exhibition moved to the de Young Museum
The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park, it is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with the California Pala ...
in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, to be followed by the Discovery Times Square Exposition
Discovery Times Square (also known as Discovery TSX) was an exhibition space at 226 West 44th Street in New York City that opened June 24, 2009 and closed in September 2016. It specialized in traveling exhibitions with 60,000 square feet of exhibit ...
in New York City.
''Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs'' (2008-2013)
This exhibition, featuring completely different artifacts to those in ''Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs'', first ran at the Ethnological Museum in Vienna from March 9 to September 28, 2008 under the title ''Tutankhamun and the World of the Pharaohs''. It featured a further 140 treasures from the Valley of the Kings including objects from the tomb of King Tut. The exhibition continued in North America with the following itinerary:
* Atlanta Civic Center
The Atlanta Civic Center was a theater located in Atlanta, Georgia. It closed in 2014. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of Broadway musicals, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high school graduations an ...
(November 15, 2008–May 22, 2009), Atlanta, Georgia
* Indianapolis Children's Museum (June 25–October 25, 2009), Indianapolis, Indiana
* Art Gallery of Ontario
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Bev ...
(November 20, 2009–May 2, 2010), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
* Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between ...
(July 1, 2010–January 2, 2011), Denver, Colorado
* Science Museum of Minnesota
Science Museum of Minnesota is an American museum focused on topics in technology, natural history, physical science, and mathematics education. Founded in 1907 and located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution is staffed ...
(February 18–September 5, 2011), St Paul, Minnesota
* The Museum of Fine Arts (October 13, 2011–April 15, 2012), Houston, Texas
* Pacific Science Center
Pacific Science Center is an independent, non-profit science center in Seattle with a mission to ignite curiosity and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking. Pacific Science Center serves more than 1 million people e ...
(May 24, 2012–January 6, 2013), Seattle, Washington
''Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh'' (2018-2021)
This exhibition from IMG Exhibitions featured over 150 authentic tomb objects, with many appearing outside of Egypt for the first and last time. It ran from March 2018 to May 2020, touring North America, France and the United Kingdom. A new permanent exhibition for the treasures is being constructed at the Grand Egyptian Museum
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM; ''al-Matḥaf al-Maṣriyy al-Kabīr''), also known as the Giza Museum, is an archaeological museum under construction in Giza, Egypt. It will house artifacts of ancient Egypt, including the complete Tutankhamun ...
in Cairo so this is the last time the contents of the tomb will be displayed outside of Egypt.
* California Science Center
The California Science Center (sometimes spelled California ScienCenter) is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, next to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the University of Southern California. ...
(March 24, 2018–January 6, 2019), Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
* Grande halle de la Villette
The Grande halle de la Villette (originally: Grande Halle aux Boeufs; translation: "Great Hall of Cattle"), formerly a slaughterhouse and now a cultural center, is located in Paris, France. It is situated on Place de la Fontaine aux Lions within ...
(March 23–September 15, 2019), Paris, France
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
* Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London art gallery, gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, mov ...
(planned for November 2, 2019–May 3, 2020, closed early on March 20, 2020), London, England
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
* The Castle at Park Plaza
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
(planned for June 13, 2020–January 3, 2021, indefinitely postponed), Boston, Massachusetts
* Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...
(planned for 2021, canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
), Sydney, Australia
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the exhibition in London closed early on March 20, 2020, and the artifacts were returned to Egypt on August 28 of that year instead of continuing on to Boston and Sydney. A selection of artifacts from the exhibit were put on temporary display in museums in Hurghada
Hurghada (; ar, الغردقة ', ) is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. It is one of the country's main tourist centres located on the Red Sea coast.
Overview
Hurghada was founded in the early 20th century. For many decades it wa ...
and Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm El Sheikh ( ar, شرم الشيخ, ), commonly abbreviated to Sharm, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 53,670 ...
pending the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Exhibitions of replicas
Several exhibitions have been established which feature replicas of Tutankhamun artifacts, rather than real artifacts from archaeological sites.[ These provide access to pieces of comparable appearance to viewers living in places where the real artifacts have not circulated. The first replica exhibition, a copy of the entire tomb of Tutankhamun, was built only a few years after the discovery of the tomb. This replica was temporary, staged by Arthur Weigall for the ]British Empire Exhibition
The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925.
Background
In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibi ...
at Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, in 1924.[ Modern replica exhibitions exist in Dorchester, Dorset, England, in ]Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Nevada, United States, and even in Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, Egypt (where the replica exhibition is intended to reduce the overwhelming traffic to the real locations).[ A travelling exhibition of replicas titled ''Tutankhamun: His Tomb and Treasures'', featuring several hundred pieces, has been shown in ]Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
, Brno, Munich, and Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
.[
]
Tutankhamun Exhibition, Dorchester
The ''Tutankhamun Exhibition'' in Dorchester, Dorset, England, is a permanent exhibition set up in 1986 by Michael Ridley as a re-creation of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...
. The exhibition does not display any of the actual treasures of Tutankhamun, but all artifacts are recreated to be exact facsimiles of the actual items. Original materials have been used where possible, including gold. The storyline is based around the famous English archaeologist Howard Carter. The exhibition reveals history from Carter's point of view as he entered the tomb in Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings ( ar, وادي الملوك ; Late Coptic: ), also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings ( ar, وادي أبوا الملوك ), is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th ...
in November 1922.
Exhibition sections
*The entry section of the Exhibition displays general information about Tutankhamun's life and death.
*Tutankhamun's mummy
Tutankhamun's mummy was discovered by English Egyptologist Howard Carter and his team on October 28, 1925 in tomb KV62 of Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Tutankhamun was the 13th pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, making his ...
. A life-size model of the mummy is displayed. The exhibitors claim that it took more than two years to recreate the mummy. X-ray pictures taken from the real mummy helped to make an exact copy.
*The ante-chamber contains replicas of furniture and Tutankhamun's personal items he had been buried with.
*The burial chamber exhibits replicas of the sarcophagus and coffin of Tutankhamun.
*The Treasure Hall shows recreations of statues and jewels found within the tomb of Tutankhamun. Sitting statue of Anubis, the Golden Throne, Gold Death Mask and statue of guardian goddess Selkit are displayed among other items.
''Discovering Tutankhamun'' Exhibition, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
The ''Discovering Tutankhamun'' exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, was a temporary exhibition, open from July until November 2014, exploring Howard Carter’s excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...
in 1922. Original records, drawings and photographs from the Griffith Institute
The Griffith Institute is an Egyptological institution based in the Griffith Wing of the Sackler Library and is part of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, England. It was founded for the advancement of Egyptology and Ancient N ...
were on display. The complete records of the ten year excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun were deposited in the Griffith Institute
The Griffith Institute is an Egyptological institution based in the Griffith Wing of the Sackler Library and is part of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, England. It was founded for the advancement of Egyptology and Ancient N ...
Archive at the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
shortly after Carter's death. A replica death mask was displayed along with replicas of other items from the tomb.
References
*NGA
Treasures of Tutankhamun
External links
Official website of the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition
Official website of Tutankhamun Exhibition, Dorchester
at the Griffith Institute
The Griffith Institute is an Egyptological institution based in the Griffith Wing of the Sackler Library and is part of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, England. It was founded for the advancement of Egyptology and Ancient N ...
at Oxford University.
Irvine MacManus records related to "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibition, 1975-1979 (bulk 1976-1977)
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives, New York.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Exhibitions Of Artifacts From The Tomb Of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
British Museum
Egyptian Museum
Visual arts exhibitions