After almost three decades the ancient Egyptian tomb treasures of King Tutankhamun will be making a return visit to U.S. shores.

A new exhibition, "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," (see artifacts from the exhibit, currently in Germany) will travel the U.S. for 27 months starting in June 2005. Stops will include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Florida's Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, and the Field Museum of Chicago. (See ticket information.)


Over 130 funerary objects that have rarely or never traveled abroad before are part of the exhibit. The 3,300-to-3,500-year-old artifacts come from the tombs of 18th-dynasty pharaoh Tutankhamun and others buried in the Valley of the Kings.



Messages from the Beyond



Wiese attributes the public's fascination with these well-preserved objects to what they represent: careful preparations for a vital afterlife. An Egyptian tomb artifact, Wiese said, "speaks from the beyond to us."

Showcased in the exhibition are 50 objects found specifically in Tutankhamun's tomb, among them his royal diadem, or crown; the golden, jeweled container holding his mummified organs; an alabaster sculpture of the boy king; a silver trumpet; and a gilded shrine portraying Tutankhamun and his wife. Visitors also can walk through a replica of Tutankhamun's inner burial chamber, which managed to escape looting by grave robbers.

In addition to viewing objects belonging to Tutankhamun, visitors have a unique chance to see artifacts from notable private tombs found in the Valley of the Kings. Artifacts from this rare subset, Wiese explained, provide "a more comprehensive context" in which to view those from pharaohs' tombs.



Wiese's personal favorite object in the show is a small alabaster ointment jar found in front of Tutankhamun's sarcophagus, possibly placed there to protect the mummy.

The jar, which contained precious oil, shows a lion on its lid, signifying Tutankhamun as triumphant king. Around the base are three heads representing ancient Egypt's major enemies: the Libyans, the Nubians, and the Asiatics. Taken together, Wiese says, the jar symbolizes the young pharaoh triumphing over the country's enemies.

World Tour to Support New Cairo Museum

Originally the "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" was intended for display only in Basel, but word of its popularity spread. Additional agreements were brokered with the Egyptian government allowing the exhibition to travel to Germany and the U.S.

Now showing at the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle (Art and Exhibition Hall) in Bonn through next May, the show will arrive in the U.S. in June 2005.

The U.S. version of the exhibition will expand on the artifacts by including related National Geographic photographs and television footage. Part of the proceeds raised from the world tour will be earmarked for the construction of a new antiquities museum in Cairo and for ongoing archaeological and preservation efforts within Egypt, said Terry Garcia, executive vice president of the National Geographic Society's Mission Programs division.



"They're just exquisite," Garrett remarked. "The workmanship is incredible." Whether in the U.S. or abroad, Garrett believes exhibit visitors are in for a treat. "It's really quite amazing to be in the presence of those things," he said.

The exhibition's U.S. appearances are made possible through an agreement between National Geographic, Arts and Exhibitions International, Anschutz Entertainment Group LIVE, and the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.