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 The Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaoh’s Tour
After the 1970s Tutankhamun exhibit returned home, the Egyptian parliament passed laws barring future travel of tomb artifacts outside Egypt. Apparently, an object had suffered minor damage during the tour, which understandably dismayed Egyptian officials. It would be another three decades before the treasures of Tutankhamun would return to the United States.
Then in 2004, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities began working with National Geographic, AEG Exhibitions, and Arts and Exhibitions International to develop a new tour. The show, entitled Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, would be bigger and better than any previous tour. It would incorporate more artifacts that the 1970s exhibition and would feature recent forensic studies performed on Tutankhamun’s mummy.
The Scope of the Tour
The new exhibition is scheduled to travel from 2005-2007, stopping at four different U.S. museums and then move on to London. Much larger in size than the 1977 tour, the exhibition contains 130 artifacts, many of which have never before traveled outside Egypt.
In addition to these artifacts, a special section of the exhibition explores the mystery of Tutankhamun’s death through CT scans performed on the king’s mummy. Plus, a realistic, life-sized bust created by forensic specialists lets visitors look into the face of the young pharaoh for the first time.
 The Focus of the Tour
While previous shows focused mostly on the story of the tomb’s discovery, this exhibition places Tutankhamun in his own time, revealing the art, politics, religion, and culture of his era. In addition, more than 70 objects from the tombs of Tutankhamun’s relatives shed light on his family’s dynasty and their role in bringing Egypt to its artistic and military summit.
Proceeds from the tour of this exhibition will go to support the construction of the Great Egyptian Museum, to be built near the pyramids at Giza. This new museum will contain most of the collections from the Cairo Museum, which is too small and obsolete to display more than a small fraction of the artifacts in its vast collections.
Already a record-breaking success in Los Angeles where the exhibition opened, Tutankhamun and the Gold Age of the Pharaohs is expected yet again to trigger another bout of “Tutmania” across the U.S.
Continue to the cultural photo gallery and the 2006 Chicago Tour. >>
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