Tutankhamen (39 page)
Authors: Joyce Tyldesley
One is tempted to wonder what this journalist would have made of Carter's natural Norfolk accent. While Carter was undeniably British, his team was Anglo-American. Yet the contribution of the Metropolitan Museum was rarely acknowledged outside America. Theirs was far from a disinterested assistance â the Museum had realistic hopes of receiving a substantial share of the tomb contents as a reward for their investment, and Lythgoe had already discussed this privately, with Carnarvon â but this treatment still rankled. Here, for example, Lythgoe writes in private to the Museum director, informing him of Carnarvon's deal with the (British)
Times
:
21
Times
:
21
Although we are doing the lion's share of the work in the tomb, the tomb is Carnarvon's and Carter's and the right to speak publicly of it in any definite way is solely theirs â at least for the present.
21
21
As the American press started to ask questions, Mace, a good friend to Carter, was forced to publish his views.
The Times
of 14 March 1923 carried the following:
The Times
of 14 March 1923 carried the following:
Mr A. C. Mace, Associate Curator of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, now at Luxor, requests publication in The Times of
the following letter addressed to the Editor of the Morning Post, who has decided not to publish it:
the following letter addressed to the Editor of the Morning Post, who has decided not to publish it:
Sir â In the
Morning Post
of February 10 your Luxor correspondent states that the members of staff of the New York Metropolitan Museum are feeling a good deal of annoyance at not being allowed to send information to the American newspapers. As the senior member of the Metropolitan Museum staff now working at the tomb of Tutankhamen, I should like to point out that there is not one word of truth in the assertion. Our relations with Lord Carnarvon and Mr Carter are extremely cordial in every way, and we have never expressed the slightest desire, or felt the slightest wish, to communicate details of the work to the Press of any country. Our interest in the tomb is purely scientific, and we deeply resent being exploited in this way by irresponsible mischiefmakers.
Morning Post
of February 10 your Luxor correspondent states that the members of staff of the New York Metropolitan Museum are feeling a good deal of annoyance at not being allowed to send information to the American newspapers. As the senior member of the Metropolitan Museum staff now working at the tomb of Tutankhamen, I should like to point out that there is not one word of truth in the assertion. Our relations with Lord Carnarvon and Mr Carter are extremely cordial in every way, and we have never expressed the slightest desire, or felt the slightest wish, to communicate details of the work to the Press of any country. Our interest in the tomb is purely scientific, and we deeply resent being exploited in this way by irresponsible mischiefmakers.
Yours Truly,
A. C. Mace.
Hoving's major revelation is the unauthorised first visit to the Burial Chamber; a tale already published by Lucas. The remainder of his book focuses on the political events surrounding the excavation in general, and on Carter's interactions with the Metropolitan Museum in particular. It concludes with the startling suggestion that some small-scale items in the Metropolitan collection may have come, illegally, from Tutankhamen's tomb.
22
This allegation prompted a lengthy internal study of the collection which ended, in November 2010, with the Metropolitan Museum and the Egyptian government jointly anouncing that nineteen objects would be returned to Egypt. The nineteen objects included fifteen âbits' or study samples sent to the Museum for analysis, a sphinx bracelet inlay and a small bronze dog acquired from Phyllis Walker from Carter's own collection, and a faience collar and part of a handle discovered in Carter's Egyptian house and sent to New York when the house was closed in 1948.
22
This allegation prompted a lengthy internal study of the collection which ended, in November 2010, with the Metropolitan Museum and the Egyptian government jointly anouncing that nineteen objects would be returned to Egypt. The nineteen objects included fifteen âbits' or study samples sent to the Museum for analysis, a sphinx bracelet inlay and a small bronze dog acquired from Phyllis Walker from Carter's own collection, and a faience collar and part of a handle discovered in Carter's Egyptian house and sent to New York when the house was closed in 1948.
EPILOGUE: TUTANKHAMEN ABROAD
The discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamen was a defining moment in the cultural history of the early 20th century. It surpassed the boundaries of archaeology and fired the imagination of people all over the world, profoundly influencing high, as well as popular, culture and made millions of people aware of ancient Egyptian civilization.
Jaromir Malek
1
1
The bout of Egyptomania which had greeted the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamen was exacerbated, in 1923, by the unveiling of a beautiful, and now world-famous, head of Nefertiti in Berlin. The plastered and painted stone head had been discovered at Amarna by Ludwig Borchardt in December 1912, but had never before been on public display. It would perhaps be unduly cynical to speculate that this timing was deliberate: that Nefertiti was a German âspoiler', intended to direct attention away from the British Tutankhamen. If that was indeed the intention, it failed spectacularly. Nefertiti, who up to now
had been regarded as a minor and relatively insignificant Amarna figure, immediately took her place alongside Akhenaten and Tutankhamen as an ancient world celebrity; Tiy, who until this point had been the senior queen, was somewhat unfairly relegated to a background role. The Amarna Period, a period whose art, fashions and even hairstyles sat so neatly alongside contemporary art deco styles, became familiar as it had never been before. This was not a new phenomenon; a comparable wave of Egyptomania had followed Napoleon's Egyptian campaign and the publication of the
Description
. Nor was it purely a Western phenomenon, although it is in the West that it is most obvious.
2
However, it was perhaps the first time that ancient Egypt had entered the lives of ordinary people via the media, mass production and the high street, where new shops, such as Woolworth's, were bringing an affordable, standardised style to almost every home. So intense was the fascination with the dynastic age that it was even suggested â fairly seriously â that an extension to the London Underground, which passed through Tooting and Camden Town, should be named Tootancamden.
3
had been regarded as a minor and relatively insignificant Amarna figure, immediately took her place alongside Akhenaten and Tutankhamen as an ancient world celebrity; Tiy, who until this point had been the senior queen, was somewhat unfairly relegated to a background role. The Amarna Period, a period whose art, fashions and even hairstyles sat so neatly alongside contemporary art deco styles, became familiar as it had never been before. This was not a new phenomenon; a comparable wave of Egyptomania had followed Napoleon's Egyptian campaign and the publication of the
Description
. Nor was it purely a Western phenomenon, although it is in the West that it is most obvious.
2
However, it was perhaps the first time that ancient Egypt had entered the lives of ordinary people via the media, mass production and the high street, where new shops, such as Woolworth's, were bringing an affordable, standardised style to almost every home. So intense was the fascination with the dynastic age that it was even suggested â fairly seriously â that an extension to the London Underground, which passed through Tooting and Camden Town, should be named Tootancamden.
3
Those who could not travel to Egypt were able to visit Tutankhamen without leaving home. On 23 April 1924 â St George's day â King George and Queen Mary opened the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. Included within the Amusement Park, alongside such bone-shaking attractions as the great dipper, the safety racer and the cake-walk, was a convincing (to those who had not seen the original) âTomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen'. Entry cost 1s 3d, or 8d for children, and for this the visitor was able to experience the most famous archaeological site in the world, which had been created: âby the ingenious method of forming a walk in what in the actual tomb would be solid rock, the confined space is dealt with conveniently and the visitor views the objects as though framed in a picture'.
4
The glittering array of replica grave goods included the sarcophagus but not, of course, the coffins or mummy, as no one had yet seen them.
4
The glittering array of replica grave goods included the sarcophagus but not, of course, the coffins or mummy, as no one had yet seen them.
The artefacts were deemed extremely good replicas; the hieroglyphs such faithful copies that they could be read and understood by linguists. They had been created for the exhibition by a dedicated team of twelve craftsmen employed by the firm of Messrs William Aumonier and Sons, and Weigall had been employed as a consultant to provide the required air of Egyptological authenticity and approval. The public were entranced: Carter, never a man to pander to popular taste, less so. Assuming that the replicas were based on the excavation's copyright plans and photographs, he made a determined attempt to stop the exhibition. On 22 April 1924, the day before the official opening, the front page of the
Daily Express
reported: âMr Carter's Wembley Bombshell â attempt to close the pharaoh's tomb â writ issued â replica said to be an infringement.' The same page announced the death of Marie Corelli, who, individual to the end, expressed a wish to have her time of death recorded as 7 a.m., even though she died at 8 a.m., because she did not approve of British Summer Time. Carter only dropped his case when he was assured that Aumonier had taken their information from the many, non-copyrighted photographs taken by Weigall, the
Daily Mail
, and others.
Daily Express
reported: âMr Carter's Wembley Bombshell â attempt to close the pharaoh's tomb â writ issued â replica said to be an infringement.' The same page announced the death of Marie Corelli, who, individual to the end, expressed a wish to have her time of death recorded as 7 a.m., even though she died at 8 a.m., because she did not approve of British Summer Time. Carter only dropped his case when he was assured that Aumonier had taken their information from the many, non-copyrighted photographs taken by Weigall, the
Daily Mail
, and others.
In 1992 cultural historian Christopher Frayling wrote
The Face of Tutankhamen
, a five-part television series for the BBC and accompanying book, exploring the way in which the discovery of Tutankhamen was received and interpreted by the non-specialist Western public. As a throw-away line, he mentioned that it was impossible to assess the accuracy of the Wembley replicas as, along with the other attractions from the Amusement Park, they were eventually sold off to other funfairs: âoccasionally, there are reported sightings, but so far they have proved to come from other strange and exotic “Egyptian” entertainments'.
5
In fact, they had made their way to Hull, home city of William Aumonier, where they were purchased by Mr Albert Reckitt. After some years in his private collection they were donated to the City of Hull Museums, and were displayed in the Mortimer
Museum in 1936. They were re-displayed in 1972 to coincide with the authentic, London
Treasures of Tutankhamun
Exhibition, and displayed again in 1993 when, with a pleasing symmetry, Frayling was invited to open the exhibition. Today they are displayed in Hull's Hands on History Museum.
6
The Face of Tutankhamen
, a five-part television series for the BBC and accompanying book, exploring the way in which the discovery of Tutankhamen was received and interpreted by the non-specialist Western public. As a throw-away line, he mentioned that it was impossible to assess the accuracy of the Wembley replicas as, along with the other attractions from the Amusement Park, they were eventually sold off to other funfairs: âoccasionally, there are reported sightings, but so far they have proved to come from other strange and exotic “Egyptian” entertainments'.
5
In fact, they had made their way to Hull, home city of William Aumonier, where they were purchased by Mr Albert Reckitt. After some years in his private collection they were donated to the City of Hull Museums, and were displayed in the Mortimer
Museum in 1936. They were re-displayed in 1972 to coincide with the authentic, London
Treasures of Tutankhamun
Exhibition, and displayed again in 1993 when, with a pleasing symmetry, Frayling was invited to open the exhibition. Today they are displayed in Hull's Hands on History Museum.
6
The first wave of Tutat-mania gradually died away so that, by the time of Carter's death, Egyptology was more or less restored to its âproper' place as the preserve of dry and dusty academics. However, from the 1960s onwards, a series of touring Tutankhamen exhibitions has served to re-ignite public interest on a relatively frequent basis, while raising not inconsiderable amounts of money for Egyptological good causes. The best-known tour, the 1972 â 9
Treasures of Tutankhamen
exhibition, visited Britain, the USSR, the USA, Canada and West Germany. The British leg â hosted by the British Museum and sponsored, appropriately enough, by
The Times
â became England's first âblockbuster' exhibition. I. E. S. Edwards, the Keeper of Egyptology at the British Museum who was instrumental in the planning and implementation of the 1972 exhibition, recognised that the display might signify different things to different people:
Treasures of Tutankhamen
exhibition, visited Britain, the USSR, the USA, Canada and West Germany. The British leg â hosted by the British Museum and sponsored, appropriately enough, by
The Times
â became England's first âblockbuster' exhibition. I. E. S. Edwards, the Keeper of Egyptology at the British Museum who was instrumental in the planning and implementation of the 1972 exhibition, recognised that the display might signify different things to different people:
I used to think at one time that perhaps we had a special claim to have the exhibition, because the tomb had been discovered by a British archaeologist, but Magdi Wahba [Director of Foreign Relations, Ministry of Culture] soon disillusioned me. He said that was not the way the average Egyptian viewed it. The British had been allowed to excavate in what had always promised to be one of the richest sites in Egypt. They had made this marvellous discovery thanks to the generosity of the Egyptians in allowing them to excavate there, a sufficient reward in itself.
7
7
The London exhibition attracted 1,656,151 visitors, happy to pay the adult admission price of 50p. These visitors purchased 458,000
copies of the exhibition
Catalogue
and 306,000 copies of the
Summary Guide,
yielding a net profit from publications alone of £405,000. The British Museum and
The Times
were able to recover their costs and UNESCO received £654,474, which was dedicated to the saving of Egypt's Philae monuments. Meanwhile, indirect profits gave a major boost to the local economy. The current tour,
Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs
(Britain, USA, Australia), includes fewer Tutankhamen items and lacks the iconic death mask, yet has become the world's most successful touring exhibition, attracting audiences of 1,096,473 at the O2 London venue, 1,270,000 at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, and 1,044,743 at Chicago's Field Museum.
copies of the exhibition
Catalogue
and 306,000 copies of the
Summary Guide,
yielding a net profit from publications alone of £405,000. The British Museum and
The Times
were able to recover their costs and UNESCO received £654,474, which was dedicated to the saving of Egypt's Philae monuments. Meanwhile, indirect profits gave a major boost to the local economy. The current tour,
Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs
(Britain, USA, Australia), includes fewer Tutankhamen items and lacks the iconic death mask, yet has become the world's most successful touring exhibition, attracting audiences of 1,096,473 at the O2 London venue, 1,270,000 at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, and 1,044,743 at Chicago's Field Museum.
Almost ninety years after the discovery of his tomb, exhibitions displaying real and replica Tutankhamen artefacts are as popular as they ever were. Whether this interest extends to Tutankhamen himself, or it is simply a reflection of our modern fascination with consumerism, is very difficult to say. It certainly raises some interesting questions. Do we appreciate Tutankhamen for who he was, or because of the mythology that has transformed him into the consummate ancient world celebrity? Are we, the ultimate consumer generation, simply attracted by his vast array of grave goods and his âbling', preferring his golden mask to his actual face?
WHO WAS WHO IN ANCIENTÂ EGYPT
Ahmose: acknowledged founder of Egypt's New Kingdom and 18th Dynasty (reigned
c.
1550 â 1525 BC).
c.
1550 â 1525 BC).
Akhenaten: late 18th Dynasty king (reigned
c.
1352 â 1336 BC); son of Amenhotep III and inspiration behind the âAmarna Period'; originally known as Amenhotep IV.
c.
1352 â 1336 BC); son of Amenhotep III and inspiration behind the âAmarna Period'; originally known as Amenhotep IV.
Amenherkhepeshef: infant mummy who, in spite of his Ramesside-sounding name, has been identified as the son of the 12th Dynasty king Senwosret III. Amenhotep I: early 18th Dynasty king (reigned
c.
1525 â 1504 BC).
c.
1525 â 1504 BC).
Amenhotep II: 18th Dynasty king (reigned
c.
1427 â 1400 BC); his tomb (KV 35) was later used as a mummy cache.
c.
1427 â 1400 BC); his tomb (KV 35) was later used as a mummy cache.
Amenhotep III: Late 18th Dynasty king (reigned
c.
1390 â 1352 BC); father of Akhenaten and husband of Tiy.
c.
1390 â 1352 BC); father of Akhenaten and husband of Tiy.
Amenhotep IV: see Akhenaten.
Anen: son of Yuya and Thuya; brother of Ay.
Ankhesenamen: third surviving daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti; consort of Tutankhamen; originally known as Ankhesenpaaten.
Ankhesenpaaten: see Ankhesenamen.
Ankhetkhepherure Neferneferuaten: see Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten.
Ankhi: owner of a Sakkara tomb.
Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten (feminine Ankhetkhepherure Neferneferuaten): name discovered in sound archaeological contexts in association with Akhenaten's name; could refer to one individual or two.
Any: 19th Dynasty owner of a magnificent funerary papyrus that is now a part of the British Museum collection.
Ay: penultimate king of the 18th Dynasty (reigned
c.
1327 â 1323 BC); possible son of Yuya and Thuya and probable father of Nefertiti.
c.
1327 â 1323 BC); possible son of Yuya and Thuya and probable father of Nefertiti.
Cheops: Greek version of the Egyptian Khufu; actual builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, and fictionalised star of Jane Webb's 1827
The Mummy!
The Mummy!
Cleopatra VII: last queen of Egypt (reigned 51 â 30 BC).
Diodorus Siculus: Classical historian who wrote about Egypt (
c
. 60 â 30 BC).
c
. 60 â 30 BC).
Elder Lady (KV 35EL): later 18th Dynasty female body discovered in the cache tomb of Amenhotep II.
Hatshepsut: 18th Dynasty female pharaoh (reigned
c.
1473 â 1458 BC).
c.
1473 â 1458 BC).
Hattusaziti: chamberlain to the Hittite king Suppiluliumas.
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