Tutankhamun and Carter

Assessing the Impact of a Major Archaeological Find

Rogerio Sousa, Gabriele Pieke, Tine Bagh

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Year: 2024
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9798888570685
• Subtopic: Egyptian Ancient History
• Index: Social Sciences

First scholarly, multi-disciplinary re-assessment of Howard Carter's discovery and excavation of Tutenkhamun's tomb and the impact of the find on our understanding of the material culture of Ancient Egypt. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 stands out as one of the most important finds of modern archaeology, revealing an enormous wealth of objects encapsulating techniques, vestiges of uses and re-uses of materials, as well as unrivalled clues regarding the complex set of beliefs associated with the pharaonic funerary material culture. Once cleared from the tomb, these objects have captivated the world with their irresistible charm and beauty ending up playing a role in contemporary popular culture. However, it seems that such magnetism rather hindered than facilitated the scholarly study of the find. One hundred years after the discovery of this magnificent tomb, most of its objects remain insufficiently studied to this day. This volume aims to show how it remains challenging to study Tutankhamun's objects, gathering a collection of studies authored by leading scholars on conservation, materials, funerary beliefs as well as the reception of motifs and the impact of the discovery. Through these studies it becomes clear how ancient objects can help us reconstruct the complex fabric of the ancient Egyptian society and how they keep interacting with modern audiences.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of contributors
• Foreword
• Preface: Tutankhamun’s never-ending story can continue
• 1. Archives and artefacts: studying objects from Tutankhamun’s tomb
• 2. The laboratory in the tomb next door: Alfred Lucas and the science of conserving Tutankhamun’s treasures
• 3. The furniture that shapes our world: a re-examination of Tutankhamun’s beds, chairs and thrones
• 4. Tutorial: ‘How to change your predecessors’ names into Tutankhamun’
• 5. Searching for light: on the rise of yellow coffins
• 6. ‘Absolutely new in type’: the anthropomorphized signs on the monuments of King Tutankhamun
• 7. ‘Tut-mania’ through the iconography of Egyptomaniac ex libris
• 8. Hearts of glass: the styles and sources of the Neiger Brothers’ Egyptian Revival jewellery and the identification of two Neiger Tutankhamun pendants
• 9. Tutankhamun the pop idol: the Tut-mania phenomenon and its influence on the wider public