Theresa Thompson discovers a trove of Tutankhamun treasures

As stories of discovery go this has to be one of the most spectacular. And as storytelling goes, the Discovering Tutankhamun exhibition at the Ashmolean this summer does a great job in relating the discovery and excavation of the boy king Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 and the almighty explosion of ‘Tut-mania’ that followed.

Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb was one of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century, said Liam McNamara, co-curator of the exhibition along with Paul Collins, also from the Ashmolean Museum. The exhibition was conceived to mark the 75th anniversary of Oxford University’s Griffith Institute, the home of Egyptology in Oxford.

The exhibition draws mainly upon the Griffith Institute’s extensive archives — where all the original excavation records made by Carter and his team are held — including such absolute treasures of archaeology as handwritten diaries, journals, letters (many not seen in public before), and Carter’s meticulous records of all 5,398 objects found. So, we see Carter’s diary open at Sunday, November 5, and in a small neat hand the immortal words: “Discovered tomb under tomb of Ramses VI / Investigated same & found seals intact.”

Here too is Carter’s momentous journal entry from a couple of weeks later, November 26, 1922, after his first glimpse into the tomb. “Can you see anything?” his patron had asked, unable to stand the suspense any longer. Carter recalls it was all he could do to get out the words: “Yes, it is wonderful.”

Other archive highlights include the talented artist Carter’s exquisite drawings and watercolours — it was his artistic skills that first took him to Egypt and archaeology — as well as phenomenal photographs taken by Harry Burton, the excavation photographer. Burton’s photos, which not only were a key part of the lengthy process of recording clearing the tomb but are also iconic images in their own right, are used to great effect, enlarged on to the gallery walls. It is very impressive seeing the famous photo (originally black and white) of the jumble of objects found piled inside the ante-chamber exhibited beside Carter’s plan of the same. Burton’s glass plate negatives are extraordinarily atmospheric; his training in fine art photography coming through.

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Nina de Garis Davies’s tempera paintings, specifically her copies of scenes on the painted box found in the tomb, and Winifred Brunton’s gouache paintings of jewellery from the tomb made on sheets of ivory provide further records of the objects, in particular the original colours.

There are some terrific loans here. But no bling. And not from Egypt (though there are replicas of things like the gold mask and the hippo bed). The treasures on show here come from major museums and collections the world over, for example, a delicate stone sculpture of hands from Berlin, a lovely limestone head of Tutankhamun from New York’s Metropolitan Museum, painted stelae from the British Museum, and other extraordinary art of the Amarna Period from the Ashmolean’s own collections.

Not to forget the ‘Tut-mania’ that soon raged around the world. The central gallery is given over to the fun, frolics, and fashions that followed the sensational discovery. The world went mad for King Tut: in songs, dances, board games, record covers, novels (The Kiss of the Pharaoh), posters, jewellery, he even advertised lemons (above) ... As the New York Times correspondent reported in 1923, “One cannot escape the name of Tut-Ankh-Amen anywhere.” The phenomenon lasted, lasts, the British Museum’s 1972 Tutankhamun show confirming that; there’s a photo of the queue here; you might spot yourself in it.

Nor is the ‘curse of Tutankhamun’ forgotten. Like Tutankhamun’s name, the legend of curse still fascinates, and in the exhibition you see letters from Tut devotees worried for Carter’s health, lucky amulets sent to protect him, and telegrams urging him to re-seal the tomb. The show ends on an enticingly open-ended note, exploring how modern Egyptologists continue to interpret the evidence. And here is the biggest surprise of all: even now, almost a hundred years after the tomb was found only about 30 per cent of the excavated objects have been studied and published. Which means there is still a lot to learn from the story of King Tut: the door emphatically open to future researchers.

The Griffith Institute archive online: www.griffith.ox.ac.uk
More on the Tutankhamun exhibiton in our magazine Limited Edition