Celebrating Tut's Return

© Andreas F. Voegelin, Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig Dynasty 18, Reign of Tutankhamun 1323-1322 BCE

King Tut's treasures are returning to the U.S. this summer, and the Duke Club of Southern California is planning a welcome--a private reception and showing on July 19 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for alumni, parents, and friends.

LACMA's exhibition, "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," open June 16 through November 15, comprises more than 130 artifacts. On display will be fifty major objects excavated from the boy king's tomb, including his royal diadem, the gold crown discovered encircling the head of his mummified body, and one of the gold and precious stone inlaid canopic coffinettes that contained his mummified internal organs.

More than seventy objects from other royal graves of the 18th Dynasty (1555 B.C.-1305 B.C.) will also be showcased, including those of pharaohs Amenhotep II and Thutmose IV and the intact tomb of Yuya and Tuyu, parents-in-law of Amenhotep III and great-grandparents of Tutankhamun. According to National Geographic, which helped organize the exhibit, Yuya and Tuyu's tomb was the most celebrated historical find in the Valley of the Kings until Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's undisturbed burial chamber in 1922. All of the objects in the exhibit are between 3,300 and 3,500 years old.

The last time artifacts from Tutankhamun's tomb were exhibited in the U.S. was from 1976 to 1979. This smaller exhibit featuring King Tut toured seven cities and attracted nearly 8-million visitors. The new exhibition was organized by National Geographic, AEG LIVE Exhibitions, and Arts and Exhibitions International, with the cooperation of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. LACMA is the first U.S. venue for the twenty-seven-month national tour.

"Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" is also scheduled to appear at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale in December and at Chicago's Field Museum in May 2006. Duke's clubs program is in the early stages of planning private receptions and showings with the Duke Club of South Florida and the Duke Club of Chicago.