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September Issue 2003
SC State Museum in Columbia, SC, Extends Popular King Tut Exhibition
South Carolinians can't get enough of the Boy King, judging by their response to the South Carolina State Museum's blockbuster exhibit Tutankhamun: "Wonderful Things "from the Pharaoh's Tomb. To accommodate this popularity, the museum has arranged to extend the exhibit through Jan. 4, 2004 in the Columbia, SC, museum.
The exhibit contains 126 striking replicas of King Tut's original treasures, found among thousands of artifacts when his tomb was uncovered by British archeologist Howard Carter in 1922. The beautiful recreations include the spectacular funerary mask of Tutankhamun, probably the most recognizable image in the exhibit; plus a golden chariot, throne, bed, statues and personal items.
And, of course, there's the reproduced mummy, along with its breathtaking mummy case and eye-popping jewelry, among many more items.
"This exhibit has been a huge success for us, with many different kinds of people," says Director of Public Information and Marketing Tut Underwood. "Bunches of families have poured in over the summer, and before that, thousands of schoolchildren from all across the state came in the spring.
"Happily, those who missed it in the spring will get another chance to see these beautiful treasures this fall."
The exhibit contains information about the "curse" of Tutankhamun, plus giant original photographs taken inside the kings' tomb just after it was opened.
"The tomb contained so much treasure it took 10 years to catalog everything," says Underwood. "And Tutankhamun was a very minor pharaoh. Think of what must have been in the tombs of the great pharaohs, whose tombs, unfortunately, were robbed by thieves over the years."
Because the Egyptian government will no longer allow the original treasures of Tutankhamun to travel outside the country, this exhibit is as close as one can come to seeing these fabulous and priceless artifacts, short of traveling to Cairo, where only a fraction of them are on display.
For more information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, contact Linda McWhorter at 803/898-4921 or at (www.museum.state.sc.us).
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