The King Tut Exhibit – De Young Museum – San Francisco, California

Tutankhamun was not the most important ruler in ancient Egypt. He became king at the age of 9 and only ruled until he was 19. He restored the ancient gods of Egypt after his predecessor (probably his father) had declared Egypt monotheistic. Other than that, Tutankhamun had no other major accomplishments to speak of except that he died suddenly and in the haste of preparing his tomb it may have ended up better hidden that most pharaohs. In any case, Tutankhamun is well known predominantly because when his tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 it was largely intact and filled with riches.

King Tut may have been a minor ruler by Egyptian standards but the treasure made a pretty big splash in 1922 and continues to impress. A portion of that treasure and of the artifacts found in the tomb are touring with an exhibition sponsored in part by the National Geographic.

I had a chance to tour the exhibition last week at the De Young Museum in San Francisco and thought it was worth the price of admission. It is a popular exhibit so expect crowds. I was amazed to see how well preserved some of the artifacts were, especially the wooden ones considering that Tutankhamun died in 1323 B.C. The craftsmanship was wonderful. I also learned that Tutankhamun’s name means “Living Image of Amun” where Amun was a chief god in the pantheon of gods that Tutankhamun restored.

You might be a bit disappointed to learn that there are no mummies in the exhibit and the gold statue that is used to advertise the exhibit is not one of the (3) sarcophagi that Tutankhamun was buried in but a smaller statue about one foot tall. It is a bit disappointing to get to the last room the in exhibit and realize that the most impressive pieces are behind you, but I would still recommend this wonderful exhibit.

To save 20% on admission to “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharohs” use the code NATGEO