King Tut's Corner: exhibit observations

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TAKE THE CHALLENGE RIDDLE THE RIDDLE!	AT PHARAOH'S FEET: QUESTIONS FROM THE EXHIBITION


At Pharaoh's Feet: Looking Beneath the Surface •UPDATED• 8/29/12 The Tut Exhibition focuses on the broad arc of Pharaonic history and the glamor of Tutankhaman's tomb. You can look beyond the surface text of the exhibition if you look at and think about the many small details that the exhibition presents but never discusses. A few examples of this "second sight" are presented below. When you go through the exhibit, see how many observations and questions of this sort that you can generate. Take notes and pictures so that you don't forget what you've seen. Then see if you can find the answers to your many questions. You can use this technique in any sort of museum anywhere in the world.

The feet of this statue are polished, but neither the rest of the statue or its broken toe are polished. Why? How many hands caressed these feet? What was the religious context; what the personal context? Why are only a few statues like this?

Look for a box with this brilliant blue material. It is one of the few pieces in the exhibit that incorporates Egyptian faience. Egyptian sparkling blue faience is made using quartz and copper oxide. It was invented in the late Neolithic Period before the rise of the "zero" dynasties. Later, the Egyptians added lead oxide to the formula to create green faience that they used for the color of eyes.

IRTYU MEANS BLUE

Click here to learn more about Egyptian Faience.

To the left is the hieroglyph for the word irtyu, meaning "blue." This is the oldest known word for blue in the strict and narrow sense of that color. •NEW• 8/22/12

•NEW• 8/12/12

Inscription on the inner coffin of the Queen Ahmose-Meritamun, wife and sister of the Pharaoh Amenhotep I. She died early in the eighteenth dynasty.

The inscription is black on yellow paint. The area surrounding the inscription is painted red so the inscription tablet stands out.

Above, the top of Meritamun's inner coffin so you know what to look for in the exhibit. Below, a close-up of a portion of the inscription seen on the left. Notice that the surface of the coffin is carved the form of a feathered cloak. Paint covers this carving. Also note the small perforations that run down the center of the inscription; some are filled with yellow paint. There are also two pegs, lower left and upper right. What do you think accounts for these features? There is doubtless a story here; what might it be?

•NEW• 8/29/12 The sculpture at the right is one of the first things you see after entering the exhibit. Notice that the right eye has been obliterated. In the statue seen below (not in the exhibit), the left eye has been obliterated. Other examples exist where both eyes have been removed. However, their numbers are relatively few. What meaning, if any, might this have? If you go to the three web sites linked to below, you will see that eyes were extremely important in ancient Egyptian religion and belief. Using them, and some common sense, you should be able to develop a number of possible reasons for such selective eye obliteration.

Wikipedia on Eye of Horus
Ancient Egypt Online
Sofiatopia

At Pharaoh's Feet: Looking Beneath the Surface •UPDATED• 8/29/12