Sunday, January 08, 2006

More on Tutankhamun at Fort Lauderdale

A clear and informative overview of the Tutankhamun exhibition in Fort Lauderdale, if you haven't already read too many to bear the thought of yet another one, including a couple of photographs and a brief look at the financing: After the world tour in the 1970s, the Egyptian government clamped down on road shows of their treasures, feeling stung by their past generosity. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said as much to reporters during a preview in Fort Lauderdale in December, after the city's leaders gave a series of speeches about brotherhood and the benefits of cultural exchange. 'In the past,' Hawass said, 'Egypt gave many exhibitions freely. Museums made a lot of money but we made hardly anything. Now, why do we send exhibitions to the United States or Europe? It's about money. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is still making money today on King Tut replicas (from the 1970s) in its gift shop and we see not one penny of it. There are no free meals anymore.' "
For the full article see the above web page on the St Petersburg Times website.

More on the king's physical appearence:
"Whether the forensic reconstruction can truly show King Tutankhamun's features may be debatable. What is indisputable are the depictions on paintings, sculptures and other artifacts produced by the best artists of the time, more than 3,000 years ago".

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