What is the reason behind the global fascination with the tomb of Tutankhamun?

The Mystery Behind the Global Fascination with Tutankhamun's Tomb

When Tutankhamun’s tomb was opened in 1922 it was a global phenomenon and everyone was talking about it

Today archaeologists believe the world is still obsessed with Tutankhamun because his tomb is the only one that has been left untouched. Other tombs were looted and pillaged. The mystery of the young pharaoh’s death and Lord Carnarvon the English aristocrat who funded the dig also adds to the fascination.

As the Saatchi Gallery in London gets ready to host the largest collection of Tutankhamun’s treasures ever seen outside of Egypt after the sell out shows in LA and Paris it’s clear Tutankhamun’s treasures haven’t lost their magic in the 21st century.

The 1920s was just as big a factor in the Tutankhamun craze as the treasures in the tomb. In 1922 Howard Carter the archaeologist who found the tomb was in crisis. Egypt’s new government had imposed strict regulations on antiquities in the midst of political turmoil. To get the funds to excavate and preserve the treasures in the tomb Lord Carnarvon made an exclusive deal with The Times newspaper for news and photos.

according to Cat Warsi, Assistant Archivist at the Griffith Institute in Oxford financial support and media coverage was key to the excavation which was expensive and took about 10 years

British photographer Harry Burton from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was commissioned to photograph the excavation. Burton’s style was meticulous and he used dramatic effects, photographing objects from multiple angles using the techniques developed in Hollywood films. His photos show the extraordinary and the mundane treasures of the tomb. Over 5,000 objects ranging from golden statues and jewellery to decorative boxes, boats, chariots, bread, meat baskets of chickpeas, lentils, dates and garlands of flowers

The treasures inspired fashion designers in the 1920s with pharaonic symbols like snakes,birds and lotus flowers on garments

burton’s photos of luxurious objects showed the consumer culture of the Roaring Twenties, where “conspicuous consumption” was a term coined by economist Thorstein Veblen to describe buying goods to show off wealth and power rather than basic needs.

The discovery of King Tut’s tomb also sparked the public’s imagination and demand for products inspired by his world. During his father Akhenaten’s reign the Amarna style emerged where royalty was portrayed in a more realistic way, closer to life.

Isis one of the four statues guarding King Tutankhamun’s shrine was the inspiration for the “flapper” movement of the post war era. This movement was about liberation with bobbed haircuts like Cleopatra, modern dress, drinking and dancing to jazz music and rebelling against the norm.

Isis appeared on all sorts of products lipsticks face powders perfumes creams.

josephine baker was the epitome of the flapper, calling herself the “cleopatra of Jazz”, using the modern girl’s image and lifestyle to empower and resist racism. King Tut also inspired jazz musicians and the 1923 song “old King Tut The young king was only 17-19 years old when he died this was discovered years after the tomb was opened when carter found the king’s skeleton

Examination of tutankhamun’s body which showed multiple injuries caused speculation and stories of curses, which was heightened by Lord carnarvon’s death soon after the tomb was opened

We may also be fascinated with tutankhamun because of the societal connection to the young king who was discovered during the aftermath of world war I when many war victims were buried far from home.

The discovery of the young king’s injured body spoke to those who were mourning war victims or caring for wounded soldiers, of wounds that were hidden to preserve the empires’ reputations.

cinema made mummies come to life after death, John Balderston the first journalist to see King Tutankhamun’s face wrote the screenplay for “The Mummy” (1932).

roger luckhurst of birkbeck college university of london says Burton’s photos of the treasures and discoveries made carter and carnarvon look like characters from “Raiders of the Lost Ark

the 1920s were obsessed with King tut because of a global project that captured people’s imaginations,connected them to the past and the dead and gave solace to those grieving or injured , magining their loved ones in a better world. Reconstructing the past helps us dream of the future