Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs

CHICAGO, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The wait is finally over! The highly- anticipated Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs opens this Friday, May 26th at The Field Museum. To date, The Field Museum has sold more than 190,000 tickets to this blockbuster exhibition.

When the British archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered the remarkably preserved tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, he created a worldwide sensation. When the boy king's riches toured the world in 1977, the term "blockbuster exhibition" was born. Now a new exhibition, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, offers visitors a chance to see new treasures and to enter the world that gives them meaning: 250 years that marked the pinnacle of ancient Egypt's culture, wealth, and imperial power.

Visitors to the new exhibition, twice the size of the 1977 exhibition, will have an even broader and deeper experience. The exhibition includes more than 130 ancient artifacts -- of gold and silver, jewels and semi-precious stones, alabaster and gilded wood -- excavated from the tomb of Tutankhamun and other royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Visitors will learn about life and death in ancient Egypt, and the intimate relationship between the two, as well as discover what the latest technologies reveal about how the young king may have died.

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs is an exhibition from National Geographic. Organized by Arts and Exhibitions International and AEG Exhibitions in association with The Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt and The Field Museum. Tour Sponsor is Northern Trust. Chicago Sponsor is Exelon, Proud Parent of ComEd.

Howard Carter had spent five years searching the Valley of the Kings for the tomb of Tutankhamun. His funding was coming to an end, but he persuaded his patron, Lord Carnarvon, to support his work for one more season. A few days after digging began again, a young water-carrier put his hand on a stone step.

"It was a spectacular discovery -- a tomb untouched since antiquity, its inner sanctum never looted by tomb robbers," says James L. Phillips, Acting Curator of the Near East and North Africa at The Field Museum and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The only tomb of its era found intact, it was also, Phillips notes, the first major discovery in the age of easy worldwide communication. That, along with rumors of a mysterious curse, helped make Tut the most popular of the pharaohs.

But there is no denying the allure of the treasure itself. More than 5,000 beautifully preserved artifacts were found in Tut's tomb, and the 50 selected for this exhibition -- along with more than 70 from other royal tombs -- are among the most breathtaking objects of ancient Egypt. Only a few of these artifacts were in the original exhibition, and many have never before traveled outside Egypt.

Among the dazzling artifacts on display are a gold diadem, inlaid with semi-precious stones, that graced the boy king's head in life and death; a miniature gold coffin, in Tut's image, that held his inner organs; and a gold dagger, wrapped with his mummy to protect him in the afterlife. A wooden bust shows the king as a young and very human figure, while exquisite gilded statuettes portray him as the ruler of all Egypt. A small shrine of wood covered in gold and silver is engraved with tender scenes of Tutankhamun and his young wife. And most poignant of all is a child-size throne of ebony and ivory inset with gold.

Though less well known, the treasures from other royal tombs are equally spectacular, especially those from the tomb of Yuya and Tjuya, believed to be Tut's great-grandparents. Tjuya's coffin is a stunning sight, covered in a bright reddish gold inlaid with colored glass that forms her broad collar. Another fascinating artifact comes from the tomb of Amenhotep II -- a model boat, shaped like the royal barge and painted a bluish green, the color of life reborn.

Tutankhamun tells the fascinating story of Egypt's 18th dynasty, the golden age of the pharaohs. It was the height of Egyptian culture, wealth, and power. The empire extended from Libya to Gaza, from Syria to Sudan; art and literature flourished, and architecture and technology advanced. But Tut was born into an era of great cultural upheaval: his father, Akhenaten, had replaced the worship of many gods with a radical new monotheistic religion, only to have it overturned by Tutankhamun's advisors soon after the old king's death.

Tutankhamun's early death has long been shrouded in mystery. He had ruled for about ten years, and was scarcely out of his teens when he died -- unexpectedly, to judge by the relatively small and simple tomb in which his mummified body was buried. X-rays taken in 1968 suggested to some that he might have been killed by a blow to the head. But the exhibition offers a series of recent, more detailed CT scans that show no signs of trauma. The mystery remains.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and students with ID, $16 for children 4-11. These prices include general Museum admission. Discounts are available for Chicago residents. An audio tour narrated by Omar Sharif will be available for $6 for the general public, $5 for members, students, and children.

To purchase tickets, call 866-FIELD-03 (866-343-5303), visit http://www.fieldmuseum.org/tut , or go to the Museum's box office. Special rates are available for tour operators and groups of 15 or more. Call the Group Sales office toll-free at 888-FIELD-85 (888-343-5385).

The Field Museum is open every day except Christmas Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (open 8 a.m. May 26 through Labor Day). Last ticket sold at 4 p.m. For general Museum information call (312) 922-9410. The Field Museum is located at 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, on CTA bus lines #6, #12, and #146, and close to the Metra electric and South Shore lines. Indoor parking garage is just steps from the main entrance.