King Tut to dazzle Hollywood
2005-06-15 12:39
Los Angeles - The golden treasures of Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun's tomb are set to dazzle America for the first time in three decades with Thursday's Hollywood-style launch of a unique exhibition.
Tinseltown will collide with the land of legendary King Tut when the blockbuster exhibit Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs begins its 27-month US run at a gala in Los Angeles to be attended by a constellation of stars.
The show, which boasts 130 funerary objects some of which have rarely or never travelled out of Egypt before, opens its doors 26 years after the last US display of artefacts from Tutankhamun's tomb ended in 1976.
Organisers are hoping the show will become a phenomenon and break attendance records set by the 1976-79 show that gave birth to blockbuster exhibitions and haul in nearly $30m for Egypt's government.
"Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922, Tutankhamun has captured the hearts of people around the world," said Zahi Hawass, King Tut's official caretaker and head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Basked in a special spotlight
"Now Tutankhamun is back (in the United States), giving a new generation the chance to learn firsthand about the life and magic of this ancient monarch," he said.
Thursday's opening is expected to feature a flashbulb-lit red carpet parade that organisers hope will be attended by luminaries including the likes of California's movie star governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The 3 300-to-3 500-year-old artefacts on show come from the tombs of 18th-dynasty pharaoh Tutankhamun and other royals buried in Egypt's famed Valley of the Kings.
The stars of the show are 50 items found in Tutankhamun's tomb, including his royal diadem the golden and bejewelled container that holds his mummified organs and an alabaster sculpture of the boy king.
While archaeologists say King Tut was one of Egypt's least significant kings in terms of historical influence, he has always basked in a special spotlight, partly because of the legend of the famed curse of Tutankhamun which was credited with killing Carter and other members of his team.
- SAPA