Wonderful things
We've had a busy couple of days going to two exhibitions but I'll save the second one for another entry. Prompted by kazzy_cee's post about it and my brother saying it was "worth seeing" (this is the equivalent of a five star rave review from him) I finally managed to galvanise myself to book tickets for Tutankhamum: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh on Tuesday as I didn’t want to miss what would possibly be our last chance to see them.
We got several dire warnings from Ticketmaster about turning up too early but we got there at 10.50 for a start time of 11.00 and there was no queue and no problem. A very kind woman had two spare tickets for audio guides so we got those unexpectedly free and they were worth having. The exhibition started with a video explaining the discovery of the tomb by Howard Carter whose expedition was financed by Lord Carnarvon (owner of Highclere Castle aka Downton Abbey) in 1922. The presentation reminded us quite strongly of the Harry Potter exhibition but that’s not a criticism as we enjoyed that hugely. After the video it was through to the exhibition proper which was arranged to show Tutankhamun’s journey through the Egyptian Land of the Dead and why he needed the artifacts he had been buried with. It was quite crowded and you needed a certain amount of patience to see the items properly but they were so stunning that it was easy to linger and wait. As it was a week day there were school parties going round but they were being very well marshalled and well behaved so they weren’t a problem.
The first room contained some beautiful calcite (a kind of alabaster) vases and intricately carved wooden chests, containers for the food Tutankhamun would need in the afterlife, and faience vessels which looked rather like teapots which were used in one of the ceremonials to enable Tutankhamun to eat and drink in the afterlife. One of his woven linen gloves was even on display, an extraordinary survival.
The second room contained more items for Tutankhamun’s journey including two beautiful model boats that mirrored boats he would have used in life and the belief was that they would expand into full size boats in the afterlife.
There were gilded wooden models of Tutankhamun as king, out fishing and subduing a panther, all showing him as a master of everything he did.
A wooden shield showed him as a sphinx subduing his enemies and and another depicted him slaying lions. There were bows and arrows with an exquisitely decorated bow case and the gilded bottom half of a feather fan. He had been provided with everything it was believed that the afterlife might have in store for him.
After Tutankhamun as an active young man we went on through to a more domestic area with an amazing bed and even the chair he had used as a child.
Everywhere you looked there was something beautiful to see and the craftsmanship on display was amazing. There were stunningly made gilded wood statues of gods intended to help guide Tutankhamun on his journey through the afterlife. One of my favourites was of Ptah, a god who helped guide souls in the afterlife, carved as half man, half bird.
There were so many marvels on display that it was quite hard to take in all the incredibly crafted and beautiful exhibits but the next room contained one of the most extraordinary, one of the Guardian figures for Tutankhamun’s tomb and one of the first things Howard Carter would have seen when he entered the tomb.
This was pretty much full sized but there were exquisitely carved small “shabti” figures made of wood and faience representing servants and workers that Tutankhamun might need for tasks in the afterlife. Apparently there were 413 in Tutankhamun’s tomb altogether so he had a whole army of attendants and assisting deities to help him through the afterlife and face the judgement of Osiris. They even included a model of the king himself and the casings for his body.
The list of impressive objects just goes on and on. I can really understand why when Howard Carter entered the tomb and was asked what he could see he said “wonderful things” because everything was. Some of the smaller items were jewelled necklaces often consisting of stones shaped like beetles. This was because the Egyptians equated the dung beetle with the sun on part of its journey through the sky.
One of the famous Tutankhamun’s trumpets was also included and the audio guide had a recording of them being played, which I think came from the BBC, along with an account of the dire things that happen when they are played.
There was a large group of people clustered around one of the centrepieces of the exhibition a glass case containing a replica of the mummy of Tutankhamun complete with items that were found wrapped in the mummy bindings. There was a short film showing the stages of the coffin being opened but the actual golden face mask of Tutankhamum wasn’t included in the exhibition as it is now too fragile to travel. What was included with the replica were the very strange models of fingers, the golden sandals, the golden bands that wrapped the mummy and the symbols of sovereignty of Egypt.
We were coming towards the end of the exhibition but there was more information about the opening of the tomb, the so-called curse and “Tut mania”. One of the final exhibits was the beautiful gilded box shrine engraved with lovely domestic scenes of Tutankhamun and his wife Ankhesenamun.
The final room took us into the presence of the great statue of the pharaoh which towered over us complete with subtle traces of the paint that must once have made it glow with life. Apparently the Ancient Egyptians believed that the soul of a person lived while there were still people alive to speak his name. Tutankhamun’s life may have been obliterated after his death but several thousands of years later we still speak his name.
The Guardian described the exhibition as “pop archaeology” and it certainly gave the artifacts maximum impact with dark shadows, bright lights and atmospheric music but I didn’t mind that as the items are so extraordinary that nothing can detract from them. If you want a deeply scholarly exhibition then this probably wasn’t it but I came away feeling actually awed at what I had seen.
And finally, although the death mask itself wasn't there when we got into the shop we discovered we could have purchased a replica for the mere cost of £25,000.
Back from Ancient Egypt and on with the meme.
25. You have been given a complex task to perform at work. How do you approach it?
I set myself a deadline. Once I have a deadline all the different elements fall into place much more easily. If I don't have a deadline I will procrastinate and do the smaller elements first and not get on with the main task. Eventually I will end up with a deadline anyway as I've dithered for so long so it is best to set that first.
26. What’s a belief that you hold that most people probably disagree with?
I think once you get to my age most of the beliefs I hold most people would disagree with. This one is something that I am a bit surprised to find I believe myself considering I have spent most of my life obsessing about TV programmes and we are said to be in a golden age of TV but I do now believe there is too much television out there. I certainly wouldn't want to go back to the days of a limited number of channels but there is just so much TV now that potentially important programmes are getting lost in the deluge and good shows don't always get a chance to find an audience.
27. Winter is soup time. What’s your favorite kind of soup? (Please post the recipe or source?)
As we get a veg box I make quite a lot of soup and don't really follow a recipe as I generally fling in whatever I have left, often broccoli, which J does not particularly like, or carrots which we seem to be inundated with. We had a lot of courgettes once and I did follow this Courgette, potato and cheddar soup recipe more or less. I used actual stock instead of the stock cubes but the result was voted delicious and it is extremely easy.
The rest of the February questions behind the cut
28 If you learn that a celebrity of whom you are a fan of has done something horrible, does it affect your ability to enjoy works they previously produced?
29 If you were given an extra day every year to do whatever you want, what would you do?
We got several dire warnings from Ticketmaster about turning up too early but we got there at 10.50 for a start time of 11.00 and there was no queue and no problem. A very kind woman had two spare tickets for audio guides so we got those unexpectedly free and they were worth having. The exhibition started with a video explaining the discovery of the tomb by Howard Carter whose expedition was financed by Lord Carnarvon (owner of Highclere Castle aka Downton Abbey) in 1922. The presentation reminded us quite strongly of the Harry Potter exhibition but that’s not a criticism as we enjoyed that hugely. After the video it was through to the exhibition proper which was arranged to show Tutankhamun’s journey through the Egyptian Land of the Dead and why he needed the artifacts he had been buried with. It was quite crowded and you needed a certain amount of patience to see the items properly but they were so stunning that it was easy to linger and wait. As it was a week day there were school parties going round but they were being very well marshalled and well behaved so they weren’t a problem.
The first room contained some beautiful calcite (a kind of alabaster) vases and intricately carved wooden chests, containers for the food Tutankhamun would need in the afterlife, and faience vessels which looked rather like teapots which were used in one of the ceremonials to enable Tutankhamun to eat and drink in the afterlife. One of his woven linen gloves was even on display, an extraordinary survival.
The second room contained more items for Tutankhamun’s journey including two beautiful model boats that mirrored boats he would have used in life and the belief was that they would expand into full size boats in the afterlife.
There were gilded wooden models of Tutankhamun as king, out fishing and subduing a panther, all showing him as a master of everything he did.
A wooden shield showed him as a sphinx subduing his enemies and and another depicted him slaying lions. There were bows and arrows with an exquisitely decorated bow case and the gilded bottom half of a feather fan. He had been provided with everything it was believed that the afterlife might have in store for him.
After Tutankhamun as an active young man we went on through to a more domestic area with an amazing bed and even the chair he had used as a child.
Everywhere you looked there was something beautiful to see and the craftsmanship on display was amazing. There were stunningly made gilded wood statues of gods intended to help guide Tutankhamun on his journey through the afterlife. One of my favourites was of Ptah, a god who helped guide souls in the afterlife, carved as half man, half bird.
There were so many marvels on display that it was quite hard to take in all the incredibly crafted and beautiful exhibits but the next room contained one of the most extraordinary, one of the Guardian figures for Tutankhamun’s tomb and one of the first things Howard Carter would have seen when he entered the tomb.
This was pretty much full sized but there were exquisitely carved small “shabti” figures made of wood and faience representing servants and workers that Tutankhamun might need for tasks in the afterlife. Apparently there were 413 in Tutankhamun’s tomb altogether so he had a whole army of attendants and assisting deities to help him through the afterlife and face the judgement of Osiris. They even included a model of the king himself and the casings for his body.
The list of impressive objects just goes on and on. I can really understand why when Howard Carter entered the tomb and was asked what he could see he said “wonderful things” because everything was. Some of the smaller items were jewelled necklaces often consisting of stones shaped like beetles. This was because the Egyptians equated the dung beetle with the sun on part of its journey through the sky.
One of the famous Tutankhamun’s trumpets was also included and the audio guide had a recording of them being played, which I think came from the BBC, along with an account of the dire things that happen when they are played.
There was a large group of people clustered around one of the centrepieces of the exhibition a glass case containing a replica of the mummy of Tutankhamun complete with items that were found wrapped in the mummy bindings. There was a short film showing the stages of the coffin being opened but the actual golden face mask of Tutankhamum wasn’t included in the exhibition as it is now too fragile to travel. What was included with the replica were the very strange models of fingers, the golden sandals, the golden bands that wrapped the mummy and the symbols of sovereignty of Egypt.
We were coming towards the end of the exhibition but there was more information about the opening of the tomb, the so-called curse and “Tut mania”. One of the final exhibits was the beautiful gilded box shrine engraved with lovely domestic scenes of Tutankhamun and his wife Ankhesenamun.
The final room took us into the presence of the great statue of the pharaoh which towered over us complete with subtle traces of the paint that must once have made it glow with life. Apparently the Ancient Egyptians believed that the soul of a person lived while there were still people alive to speak his name. Tutankhamun’s life may have been obliterated after his death but several thousands of years later we still speak his name.
The Guardian described the exhibition as “pop archaeology” and it certainly gave the artifacts maximum impact with dark shadows, bright lights and atmospheric music but I didn’t mind that as the items are so extraordinary that nothing can detract from them. If you want a deeply scholarly exhibition then this probably wasn’t it but I came away feeling actually awed at what I had seen.
And finally, although the death mask itself wasn't there when we got into the shop we discovered we could have purchased a replica for the mere cost of £25,000.
Back from Ancient Egypt and on with the meme.
25. You have been given a complex task to perform at work. How do you approach it?
I set myself a deadline. Once I have a deadline all the different elements fall into place much more easily. If I don't have a deadline I will procrastinate and do the smaller elements first and not get on with the main task. Eventually I will end up with a deadline anyway as I've dithered for so long so it is best to set that first.
26. What’s a belief that you hold that most people probably disagree with?
I think once you get to my age most of the beliefs I hold most people would disagree with. This one is something that I am a bit surprised to find I believe myself considering I have spent most of my life obsessing about TV programmes and we are said to be in a golden age of TV but I do now believe there is too much television out there. I certainly wouldn't want to go back to the days of a limited number of channels but there is just so much TV now that potentially important programmes are getting lost in the deluge and good shows don't always get a chance to find an audience.
27. Winter is soup time. What’s your favorite kind of soup? (Please post the recipe or source?)
As we get a veg box I make quite a lot of soup and don't really follow a recipe as I generally fling in whatever I have left, often broccoli, which J does not particularly like, or carrots which we seem to be inundated with. We had a lot of courgettes once and I did follow this Courgette, potato and cheddar soup recipe more or less. I used actual stock instead of the stock cubes but the result was voted delicious and it is extremely easy.
The rest of the February questions behind the cut
28 If you learn that a celebrity of whom you are a fan of has done something horrible, does it affect your ability to enjoy works they previously produced?
29 If you were given an extra day every year to do whatever you want, what would you do?