Exhibitions of artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun have been held at museums in several countries, notably the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States, Canada, Japan, and France.
The artifacts had sparked widespread interest in ancient Egypt when they were discovered between 1922 and 1927, but most of them remained in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo until the 1960s, when they were first exhibited outside of Egypt. Because of these exhibitions, relics from the tomb of Tutankhamun are among the most travelled artifacts in the world. Probably the best-known tour was the Treasures of Tutankhamun from 1972 until 1981.
Other exhibitions have included Tutankhamun Treasures in 1961 and 1967, Tutankhamen: The Golden Hereafter beginning in 2004, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs beginning in 2005, and Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs in 2008. Permanent exhibitions include the Tutankhamun Exhibition in Dorchester, United Kingdom, which contains replicas of many artifacts.
Ownership and normal display
All of the artifacts exhumed from the Tutankhamun tomb are, by international convention, considered property of the Egyptian government.Zahi A. Hawass, The Golden Age of Tutankhamun: Divine Might and Splendor in the New Kingdom (2004), p. 130. Consequently, these pieces are normally kept at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo; the only way for them to be shown internationally is by approval of Egyptian authorities. Although journalists and government officials generally support the tours, some Egyptians argue that the artifacts should remain on display in their own country, where Egyptian school-children would have greater access to them, and where the museum's exhibit would attract foreign tourists.
Tutankhamun Treasures (1961–1967) The first travelling exhibition of a substantial number of Tutankhamun artifacts took place from 1961 to 1966. The exhibition, titled Tutankhamun Treasures, initially featured 34 smaller pieces made of gold, alabaster, glass, and similar materials."Tutankhamun Treasures", Art international: Volume 6 (1962), p. 51. The portions of the exhibition occurring in the United States were arranged by the Smithsonian Institution and organized by Dr. Froelich Rainey, Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, with the assistance of Dr. Sarwat Okasha, Minister of Culture and National Guidance of the United Arab Republic. The exhibit travelled to 18 cities in the United States and six in Canada.
The exhibition had a public purpose in mind, to "stimulate public interest in the UNESCO-sponsored salvage program for Nubian monuments threatened by the Aswan Dam project".Institute of International Education, Overseas: Volume 1 (1961), p. 31. The exhibition opened in November 1961 at the Smithsonian's National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C.
Other museums to host the exhibition The exhibition was shown in eighteen cities in the United States and in six cities in Canada.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (November 3–December 3, 1961)"Art Notes", Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 5, 1961, page sixteen. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (December 15, 1961 – January 14, 1962)Smithsonian Institution, Tutankhamun Treasures: A Loan Exhibition from the Department of Antiquities of the United Arab Republic (1961). Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, Connecticut (February 1–28, 1962) Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (March 15–April 15, 1962) Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska (May 1–31, 1962)Midwest Museums Conference, Midwest Museums Quarterly: Volumes 21–28 (1961), p. 34. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois (June 15–July 15, 1962) Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington (August 1–31, 1962) California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California (September 15–October 14, 1962) Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (October 30–November 30, 1962) Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (December 15, 1962 – January 13, 1963) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts (February 1–28, 1963) City Art Museum of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri (March 15–April 14, 1963) Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland (May 1–31, 1963) Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio (June 15–July 15, 1963) Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan (August 1–September 1, 1963) Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio (September 15–October 15, 1963) Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia (November 8–December 8, 1963)"Tut's Treasure On View Tonight", Richmond News Leader, November 8, 1963, page 21. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec (January 23–February 23, 1964)"'King Tut' Exhibition Opens Jan. 23 At Museum In City", Montreal Gazette, January 20, 1964, page 3. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (March 5–April 5, 1964)"Ancient Egypt, England today at Gallery; 'Tutankhamun Treasures'", Ottawa Citizen, February 29, 1964, page 4. United Arab Republic Pavilion, 1964 World's Fair, New York City, New York (April 22–October 18, 1964) Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario (November 6–December 6, 1964) Manitoba Legislative Building, Winnipeg, Manitoba (December 18, 1964 – January 17, 1965)"Wpg. Gallery To Exhibit Tut Treasures", Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, December 18, 1964, page four. Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia (January 23–February 28, 1965)"Tutankhamun Treasures, on display Jan. 29 - Feb. 28 at Vancouver Art Gallery...", Vancouver Sun, January 23, 1965, page 12.
Japan (1965–1966) From 1965 to 1966 an enlarged version of the 1961–1965 North America tour took place in Japan. The Japanese exhibition saw nearly 3 million visitors.
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (August 21–October 1965) Kyoto, Japan (October–November 1965) Fukuoka Prefectural Culture Center, Fukuoka, Japan (December 1965–January 1966)
France (1967)
The French exhibit saw an attendance of 1,240,975 (It was titled Tutankhamun and His Time and had 45 pieces on display)
Petit Palais, Paris, France (February 17–September 4, 1967)
The Treasures of Tutankhamun (1972–1981)
The genesis of the Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition reflected the changing dynamic of Middle East relations.
United Kingdom It was first shown in London at the British Museum in 1972. After a year of negotiations between Egypt and the United Kingdom, an agreement was signed in July 1971. Altogether, 50 pieces were chosen by the directors of the British Museum and the Cairo Museum to be shown at the exhibition, including 17 never before displayed outside Egypt. For insurance purposes, the items were valued at £9.06 million. In January 1972, they were transported to London on two civilian flights and one by the Royal Air Force, carrying, among other objects, the gold death mask. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the exhibition on March 29, 1972. More than 30,000 people visited in its first week. By September, 800,000 had been to the exhibition, and its duration was extended by three months because of the popularity. When it did close on December 31, 1972, 1.6 million visitors had passed through the exhibition doors. All profits (£600,000) were donated to UNESCO for conserving the temples at Philae, Egypt.
Treasures of Tutankhamun was the most popular exhibition in the museum's history. It is considered a landmark achievement in Egypt–United Kingdom relations. The exhibition moved on to other countries, including the USSR, US, Canada, and West Germany.
United States Egyptian cultural officials initially stalled prospects of an American tour, as Egypt was then more closely aligned with the Soviet Union, where fifty pieces had toured in 1973. However, relations thawed later that year when the U.S. interceded following the Yom Kippur War to sponsor a ceasefire and consequently a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. U.S. president Richard Nixon thereafter visited Egypt, becoming the first American President to do so since the Second World War, and personally prevailed upon Egyptian president Anwar Sadat to permit the artifacts to tour the United States – with the U.S. tour including one more city than the Soviet tour had included, and several additional pieces. The showing was the largest of Tutankhamun's artifacts, with 53 pieces.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art organized the U.S. exhibition, which ran from November 17, 1976, through September 30, 1979. More than eight million attended.Peter Green, Classical Bearings: Interpreting Ancient History and Culture (1998), p. 77. The Metropolitan's exhibition was designed to recreate for visitors the drama of the 1922 discovery of the treasure-filled tomb. Included along with original objects excavated from the tomb were reprints from glass plate negatives in the Metropolitan's collection of the expedition photographer Harry Burton's photographs documenting the excavation's discoveries step by step.Finding aid for the Irvine MacManus records related to "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibition, 1975-1979 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives. The Smithsonian described the exhibit as one of the initial "blockbuster exhibits" which sparked the museum community's interest in such exhibitions.
After the six U.S. tour locations were named, San Francisco citizens bombarded the Mayor's Office with inquiries as to why the tour was not coming there. As a result, museum trustees flew to Egypt to meet with the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where they worked out a mutual agreement for a seventh stop. Profits after exhibition expenses resulted in $10+ million going to the Egyptian Museum for refurbishing.
Other museums to host the exhibition After the exhibition left London in 1972, it toured the USSR from 1973 to 1975. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow (December 1973–May 1974) Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (July 1974–November 1974) National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kiev (January 1975–March 1975)
During the years 1976 to 1979 the exhibition was shown in the United States. While at the following venues, the exhibit attracted more than eight million visitors: (NGA) National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (November 17, 1976 – March 15, 1977) – 836,000 visitors in over 117 days Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois (April 14–August 15, 1977) New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana (September 15, 1977 – January 15, 1978) Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (February 15–June 15, 1978) Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington (July 15–November 15, 1978) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York (December 15, 1978 – April 15, 1979) M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, California (June 11–September 30, 1979)
After the exhibit left the U.S. it went to: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (November 1–December 31, 1979) Egyptian Museum of Berlin, Berlin, West Germany (February 16–May 26, 1980) Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, Cologne, West Germany (June 21–October 19, 1980) Haus der Kunst, Munich, West Germany (November 22–February 1, 1981) Kestner-Museum, Hanover, West Germany (February 20–April 26, 1981) Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, West Germany (May 15–July 19, 1981)
While the exhibition was on display in San Francisco, Police Lieutenant George E. LaBrash suffered a minor stroke as he guarded the treasures after hours. He later filed a lawsuit against the city on the theory that his injury had resulted from the legendary curse of the pharaohs."Chatter", People Magazine, Vol. 17, No. 4 (February 1, 1982).
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs (2004-2011)