After a twenty-six year hiatus, the treasure of an archaeological celebrity is again viewable to the public. Even with the initial discovery of the Tutankhamun excavation in 1922, it took fifty-three years for even part of the tomb’s contents to be shown in a western museum and start a new era of sensationalizing that significantly changed the museum landscape. The Tutankhamun exhibition currently displaying at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is fascinating and showcases an unusual arrangement for a very special production.

First, walking through the double doors of the museum brings you immediately to the lead-up to the show. Flanking you are imitation columns that extend to a black interior with only a single piece lit up amongst the darkness, a wooden bust of the boy king. As you pass this sculpture, you finally enter the exhibition proper, a segment containing pieces from earlier monarchs such as Amenhotep III and Akhenaten. The background here is presumably meant to reflect the desert, with browns and yellows, more lighting, and occasional photographic views of the Egyptian desert itself on the walls, providing a stark contrast to the previous blackness. The introduction of Egyptian-style tablets used to explain general history enhances this atmosphere. The next room is pitched in gloom, perhaps trying to give a simulation of a tomb, and holds several impressive pre-Tutankhamun artifacts. Finally, after a room containing a stunning example of Tutankhamun’s visceral coffins, one passes through adobe-colored corridors festooned with quotes from Howard Carter, and comes upon the most spectacular pieces of the exhibition, the treasure of Tutankhamun himself.

The selection of artifacts from Tutankhamun’s tomb is somewhat sparse, but run the gamut from furniture and sculptures to jewelry and board games. Some are truly exceptional; one pectoral has miniaturized scenes on every piece of the collar, and has more elaborate representations on both the front and the counterweight. The vibrant colors emanating from the gold, carnelian and glass make the piece feel alive even after its several thousand-year burial. Another notable inclusion to the show is the ceremonial dagger buried with Tutankhamun’s mummy. Very well preserved, the granulation on the handle, the cloisonné, and the depictions on the dagger sheath are all exquisite. This dagger is the one also shown at the previous Tutankhamun exhibition of 1975. Tutankhamun’s diadem is also very elegant. The vulture, representing Nekhbet, protective goddess of Upper Egypt, which is depicted on the brow, is in fact one of the major focuses of the piece, and is a very realistic representation. The cobra of Wadjet, which often accompanies the vulture emblem, is also well manufactured, and the gold streamers and cobras that would have flanked his face round out the design. Some of the more mundane objects from the exhibit are just as aesthetically pleasing. The headrest, for example, is beautiful in its design and manufacture, even though it is very simple. The gold rim and the dark blue glass make for an appealing contrast in coloration.

Even though many of the best pieces come from Tutankhamun’s personal affects, there are still items of note from earlier periods. The chair of Princess Sitamun, in particular, is quite amazing, not only because of the intricate details of the gilding, but also that the braided string seat is still so much intact. Even the painted wood construct of a cow’s head has its own endearing quality to it. One faience ankh’s coloration, a darkening from light to dark blue, as well as its greater complexity distinguishes it from the other mostly monochrome examples shown.

One of the debatable issues with the exhibition is its clearly spartan, as well as the sometimes inadequate, lighting. For the space that the exhibition takes up, there is a relative lack of pieces. However, there is a specific problem facing this exhibition that is not often encountered with other shows, which is the potentially huge crowds Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs will draw. There certainly is precedent for their caution; when the traveling exhibition first opened in 1975, it drew record crowds. In several locations, more than a million people attended. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has to balance this with aesthetic design, and it will not be until the exhibition officially opens at its various locations that we will be able to see the show under intended circumstances.

With the return of Tutankhamun, we will get an interesting glimpse into whether “Tutmania” will still have as great an impact as it did several decades ago. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, obviously knowing the history of the show, has tried to learn from the past. Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs has many incredible pieces to offer to attendees, however it is certain that the massive advertising for this rare event will have the most impact in drawing the crowds.

This exhibition has spawned related articles on Egyptian history, one of which I have been fortunate to read: Archaeology magazine’s report (May/June 2005) on the little known Tanis dig in the 1940s. That excavation unearthed treasures as wondrous as those of Tutankhamun, and yet very few people know of it. (Ornament also plans to add to the accumulating literature, and will publish a feature on Tutankhamun ’s personal adornment in the near future.) In many ways, Tutankhamun is just the tip of the iceberg on many fascinating archaeological findings. Hopefully, this unusual focus on ancient history will increase the public’s knowledge about the past.

Published in Ornament Magazine, Volume 28, No. 4, 2005.
—Author Patrick Benesh-Liu is Editorial Assistant of Ornament.
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