King Tut
Royal Canopic Bust
This calcite bust of the king depicts Tutankhamun wearing the nemes headdress. Red and black paint are used to highlight features of the face as well as the two protective vulture and cobra deities projecting from his brow. The recessed base below the shoulders indicated that the bust served as a stopper for one of the four cylindrical hollows of the canopic chest in which the mummified organs of the king were stored in separate coffinettes.
Me and the Girlies have a date with a King! This song is going to be stuck in my head for weeks...
***UPDATE***
The girls and I went to the exhibit with another mother and her 6 y/old son. It was PACKED. OMG - we were herded around like cattle. Several of the rooms were dark so my 6 y/old and the other 6 y/old were scared and worried and wanted to rush through. My littlest clung to me with her eyes covered most of the way - our friend's 6 y/old insisted on being carried most of the way. (Ouch!) So in between dealing with the little ones and attempting to engage with my older one - who was fascinated by everything and tried to read every explanation card (and it wasn't easy getting close to a lot of them because of the crowding) - it was pretty stressful.
We were shocked at the end, because there wasn't much of King Tut's stuff there. There was a sarcophagus - beautiful - but the explanation was that it was a sarcophagus of a non-royal, possible in-law of King Tut. We all thought that the calcite statues and containers were particularly beautiful.
At the end, a forensic reconstruction of King Tut's face and head was shown. Really fascinating. His head seems to have been misshapen and my friend and I both noticed it.
They also showed an X-Ray, a CT scan and an MRI of King Tut's body. What we could read before being whisked away to stare at the Foucault pendulum by the kids showed that King Tut's death is still a mystery. He was a healthy 19 year old man.
We ended our visit in the The F.M. Kirby Gallery of the Biosciences where the giant heart and many, many other interesting hands on activities are available for exploration. I think the kids definitely had more fun here.
We got lucky with parking and made it home by 5:00, and in the City of Brotherly Love that is considered a successful excursion!
posted by Grizzly Mama | 12:23
10 Comments:
Z would be soooo jealous!! Ancient Egypt is his favorite period of history.
The kids and I love King Tut too!!
Alright I have ask the dumb question here, Isnt there a book about him some where in the children section? Or am I thinking of something totally different. I like it though. Hope you had fun.
King Tut is a legend!
Several years ago, my husband and I went to the King Tut exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Wow, wow, wow!
When I was a child, I had my parents buy me the Steve Martin LP (this was around 1977 or so). They were a bit leery, I think, seeing him as racy, but I think my mom also found it catchy. I just liked the song, and didn't understand any of the humor, I don't think. I don't even remember what other material was on that album.
Tshsmom - we missed the Tut exhibit the last time it came through the US. Ancient Egypt is also one of our favorite subjects.
LMC - us too!
Tweetey - Oh you just wait and see all there is to know about King Tut and all the other Pharoahs of Egypt. You're going to love it and so will the girls.
Mr. GG - his story is pretty amazing. They still don't know how he died.
AOW - There are some beautiful things - really amazing pieces.
Wordsmith - I loved Steve Martin back in the 'arrow through the head' days. lol.
That is so cool!! I am still in love with Queen Nefertiti after seeing the bust in person. Even though one side has some damage.
I guess I remember reading that Egyptians preformed cranial deformation like the Mayan. Sorta like how Chines bound women's feet in old times, the ancient Mayans put a board on the newborn baby's head and to give them a nice flat, sloping forehead. Fashion is a bitch-goddess!
I visited this exhibit this past Febuary and thoroughly enjoyed the display.
The arrangement of the displayed items allowed you to walk 360 degrees around each display. You get a better picture of each item and its role in the story of King Tutankhamun.
Yes, this exhibit was not full on King Tutankhamun - and it should not have been. The Boy-King was a negligible player at the time. His fame came posthumously with Lord Carter's discovery of his nearly untouched burial chamber.
That sounds excellent! I went to the King Tut Exhibit when I was a wee little kid in Seattle. I want to say I was 5. My grandma bought me a necklace that my dad promised me I could keep. He then lost it. :( Bummer.
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