At Home in Sugar Land: Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs

On Thursday Whitney and I went to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to see the King Tut exhibition. Unfortunately they banned all photography so I wasn't able to take my own pictures. The pictures I am posting here are from the museum's web site. It was really interesting, we learned some new information about him and it was a lot of fun to see. While we were there we found out that due to a generous gift from Shell oil company, general admission to the museum is free on Thursdays. Yay ...I'm sure that I will be visiting the art museum a lot more often now. Thanks Shell Oil company!

The traveling exhibition Tutankhamen: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs features more than 100 artworks, most of which had never been shown in the United States prior to this tour. These spectacular treasures—more than half of which come from the tomb of King Tutankhamun—include the golden sandals found on the boy king´s mummy; a gold coffinette that held his stomach; golden statues of the gods; and King Tut's rings, ear ornaments, and gold collar.

Also showcased are objects associated with the most important rulers of the 30 dynasties that reigned in Egypt over a 2,000-year span. The exhibition explores the splendor of the pharaohs, their function in both the earthly and divine worlds, and what "kingship" meant to the Egyptian people. Among the highlights is the largest likeness of King Tut ever discovered: a 10-foot statue of the pharaoh found at the remains of a funerary temple.

Canopic Coffinette from Tutankhamun's Tomb (detail), 18th dynasty, gold, carnelian, and colored glass.

Pair of Sandals found on Tutankhamun’s Mummy, 18th Dynasty, gold, Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Leopard-Head Decoration from a Ritual Robe, 18th dynasty, gilded wood, rock crystal, and colored glass.

Box with Cartouches of Amenhotep III, 18th dynasty, wood and faience.

Funerary Mask of Psusennes I, 21st dynasty, gold, lapis lazuli, and glass paste.

Falcon Collar of the Princess Neferuptah, 12th dynasty, gold, carnelian, and feldspar.

The Golden Throne

This chair is by far the most spectacular of the six found in Tutankhamun's tomb. The wood frame was wrapped with sheets of gold and silver and then inlaid with an array of semiprecious stones, faience and colored glass, which together were worked into a wealth of symbolic and decorative elements. Finely detailed lion's legs support the chair, while the arm panels take the form of winged uraei (or cobras) surmounted by the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Partially visible is the exquisitely rendered chair back, which depicts Queen Ankhesenamun anointing her husband beneath the life-giving rays of the sun disc.

The chair we saw was more rustic, though incredibly preserved and you could still see the white paint.

King Tutankhamun and Queen Ankhesenamon

Massive hinged gold hoop-shaped bracelet found on the mummy of Tutankhamun. Its central plaque bears a large gold scarab inlaid with lapis lazuli. All the floral and block-decoration is inlaid with lapis lazuli, turquoise, cornelian and quartz in colored cement. From the tomb of Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings, W. Thebes. 18th Dynasty (1334-1325 B.C.)