King Tut reigns for two more weeks at Dallas Museum of Art
“Canopic Stopper of Tutankhamun” is one of the many artifacts from the Egyptian ruler’s tomb in the exhibit “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” at the Dallas Museum of Art. Tutankhamun’s canopic chest had four compartments, and each had a lid in the shape of the king’s head. He wears a royal nemes headdress with a vulture and cobra (uraeus). Some scholars have questioned whether the facial features indicate a previous ruler, but Tutankhamun’s name on the exterior appears original. (Dynasty 18, reign of Tutankhamun 1332-1322 BCE. Photo by Kenneth Garrett/National Geographic)
From Sunday’s Life section of The Oklahoman
DALLAS – He was just a boy when he became king and only a teenager when he died mysteriously, but people’s fascination with King Tut endures more than 3,000 years after his death.
The ancient Egyptian ruler’s burial riches continue to draw crowds, most recently at the Dallas Museum of Art in the encore exhibition “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.”
With just two weeks left to see the most-visited exhibit in the institution’s 100-year history, the Dallas museum is planning several special events, including a “Mummy Marathon,” in which the exhibit will be open round the clock from 9 a.m. May 16 through 7 p.m. May 17.
Dallas is the first and only stop in the Southwest for the exhibit, which next will travel to the de Young Museum, San Francisco.
Golden artifacts
Fashioned of gold and adorned with colored glass and semiprecious stones, the miniature coffin captures the visage of Egypt’s best-known ruler.
The coffinette, which once contained King Tut’s liver, is one of the many iconic images of ancient Egypt portrayed in “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.”
The exhibit includes more than 50 items from Tutankhamun’s tomb, including his royal diadem or crown, twin statuettes depicting him as king of Lower and Upper Egypt and the ruler’s favored gold danger, which was placed on his mummy.
Other items from Tut’s tomb include a small ebony and ivory chair he probably used as a child, tiny game boards complete with playing pieces and several examples of intricate jewelry made of gold and inlaid with semi-precious stones.
Not included are Tut’s famous golden death mask, his elaborate sarcophagus or his mummy, which has never left Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. The exhibit ends with a graphic presentation on his multi-layered sarcophagus and a video about the latest research on the mummy.
The exhibit also includes 80 objects from tombs of other rulers of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty and possessions of many elite people from the time period. Tutankhamun was the last king of the most powerful family of the 18th Dynasty, so these artifacts offer a look at his family tree.
The antiquities include the head of a colossal statue of Amenhotep IV, who is believed to be Tut’s father; a beautifully carved canopic jar made to hold the mummified organs of Kiya, who is thought to be Tut’s mother; and an intricately painted model of a boat, designed to be used in the afterlife.
All the items in the exhibit are more than 3,000 years old. While some have been worn and damaged with time, others remain remarkably well preserved.
Ancient encore
Dallas is the first stop on an encore tour for “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.” From 2005-08, the exhibit made stops in Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Philadelphia and London, drawing more than 5 million people.
For the encore, the exhibit includes a few new artifacts, including a set of nested fetus coffins, which held the mummies to two stillborn girls, believed to be Tut’s daughters.
Along with the exhibit, the museum is showing the movie “Egypt 3-D: Secrets of the Mummies” and displaying “Opening Tutankhamun’s Tomb: The Harry Burton Photographs,” which document Howard Carter’s 1922 discovery of Tut’s tomb.
Because of the sluggish economy, the Dallas museum likely won’t see the 1 million visitors it hoped. But the museum still considers it a success, said Judy Conner, the museum’s marketing and communications director. More than 600,000 tickets have been sold, and this year the museum will mark its highest attendance on record.
“These truly are magnificent works of art that may never be seen outside of Cairo again and we have been thrilled to present them,” Conner said in an e-mail.
-BAM
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This was a great exhibit. People who didn’t see it definitely missed out.