Tutankhamun

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Howard Carter's 'wonderful discovery' in the Valley of the Kings - the intact royal burial place of Tutankhamun - ranks amongst the greatest archaeological triumphs of all time. The boy king's golden funerary mask is perhaps the most celebrated single masterpiece from the ancient world but his tomb, largely undisturbed when Carter cut through the priestly door-seals in 1922, was filled with a wealth of other less well-known objects, mostly designed for the king's enjoyment in the afterlife. This material -including amulets and jewelry, figures of gods and servants, weapons and games, food, clothing and unguents, statues, furniture and model boats - is now stored in Cairo but only a proportion is on display to visitors. The photographer Araldo de Luca was granted unprecedented access to these treasures and over many months built up the sumptuous range of 400 color photographs that form the basis of this remarkable volume. T.G.H. James - one of the world's foremost Egyptologists -... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Howard Carter's 'wonderful discovery' in the Valley of the Kings - the intact royal burial place of Tutankhamun - ranks amongst the greatest archaeological triumphs of all time. The boy king's golden funerary mask is perhaps the most celebrated single masterpiece from the ancient world but his tomb, largely undisturbed when Carter cut through the priestly door-seals in 1922, was filled with a wealth of other less well-known objects, mostly designed for the king's enjoyment in the afterlife. This material -including amulets and jewelry, figures of gods and servants, weapons and games, food, clothing and unguents, statues, furniture and model boats - is now stored in Cairo but only a proportion is on display to visitors. The photographer Araldo de Luca was granted unprecedented access to these treasures and over many months built up the sumptuous range of 400 color photographs that form the basis of this remarkable volume. T.G.H. James - one of the world's foremost Egyptologists - provides a comprehensive account of the tomb's discovery and a detailed description and explanation of each of the masterpieces displayed. His introductory chapter provides an historical overview of the reign of Tutankhamun in the immediate aftermath of the political and religious schism initiated by Akhenaten. A significant section of the work is devoted to the meticulous research conducted by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter that led to the discovery of the royal tomb and to a description of the historical background of that unprecendented event. James also paints a revealing portrait of Carter, an artist who became an archaeologist, who was the first to suspect the presence of something extraordinary in the Valley of the Kings and who passed on his enthusiasm to his patron Lord Carnarvon. Much of the funerary cache found in the tomb is described in detail and is illustrated in hundreds of magnificent photographs that reveal how even the most everyday objects can be exceptional examples of the Egyptian artists' creativity. The result is a collection that will astonish even those familiar with the art of ancient Egypt, for the first time displaying the full extent and magnificence of Tutankhamun's treasures. Vissza