Touring exhibitions with the treasures from Tutankhamun’s tomb cast a spell over millions of visitors, creating the enduring image of Egypt of our time. The fascination exerted by the person of this youthful king, whose reign lasted just a few years, and his funerary treasures, remains undiminished today. Likewise untouched by the passage of time is the myth surrounding the discovery of the tomb, as well as the fascination which emanates from the splendour of the golden coffins and the artistry of hundreds of funerary furnishings.
Worldwide interest in Tutankhamun’s tomb treasures found a focus in a touring exhibition which was shown in Switzerland, Germany and America, with London as the last stop. Only Austria was left out of these events around Tutankhamun. So it can be considered a real sensation that from March 2008 onwards a newly designed Tutankhamun show – held in association with the Egyptian Administration of Antiquities and supported by the National Geographic Society – will be shown in Vienna, uniquely among all the cities of Europe.
With over 150 objects, of which a good third come from the funerary treasures of Tutankhamun, a hitherto quite unknown glimpse of the fascinating world of Tutankhamun and his funerary treasure trove will be given. As suggested by the exhibition title, “Tutankhamun and the Egyptian Pharaohs”, the young king and his treasure, embedded in the millennia-old history of the land of the Pharaohs, will be shown with the most important loans from the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. The objects, including statues, reliefs, as well as numerous masterpieces from Ancient Egyptian handicraft made of gold, silver, alabaster, bronze, faience etc., convey a particularly impressive image of the fascinating culture of the Pharaoh’s Empire on the Nile.
Like in no previous exhibition, we can follow the development of Egyptian art from the time of the pyramid architects to the religious revolutionary Akhenaten. The special significance of King Tutankhamun, his historical and religious involvement in the dynastic history of his era – still a riddle to some extent – are illustrated by means of exhibition architecture that is exceptional in its conceptual power and intensity.
Tutankhamun’s tomb chamber, a scientifically perfect reproduction of the original, will offer the visitor yet a further attraction. Anyone who has ever succumbed to the fascination of Ancient Egyptian culture and its art, will be as intrigued by this exhibition as all those for whom direct contact with Tutankhamun’s tomb treasures has as yet been denied. The huge expenditure and efforts associated with the selection of the objects, their careful maintenance in terms of restoration, and their scientific treatment, will all be explained in the fitting catalogue that accompanies the exhibition. It goes without saying that objects from the rich Egyptian Collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum will also add to this unique show.
Tour Info:
Times: Our allocation is for 2 timeslots:
Daily @ 12.30pm & 1.00pm
Booking Information:
Please note this price includes an audio guide for the exhibition.
Please exchange your voucher at least 30 min prior to your entry time.
The Museum of Ethnology Vienna is one of the most important ethnological museums of the world. Among its special treasures are the collections from Oceania and North America assembled by James Cook on his circumnavigations 1768–1780 and a group of Mexican featherwork and other rare and precious objects from the Americas, Africa, and Indonesia, which in 1596 were part of the collection of Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol at Ambras Castle. The museum is also famous for its extensive Brazilian collection brought together in 1817–1836 by Johann Natterer, and for its outstanding collection of bronzes from the West African kingdom of Benin. The 14,000 objects acquired by Archduke Franz Ferdinand on his tour around the world in 1892/3 form the single largest collection of the museum.
The origins of the Museum of Ethnology Vienna can be traced to the year 1806, when the acquisition of a large part of the Cook collection led to the establishment of a separate "Ethnographic Collection" within the Imperial Cabinet of Natural History. After1876 the rapidly growing collections were preserved in the Anthropological-Ethnographic Department of the Museum of Natural History. In 1928, a separate Museum of Ethnology was created in the Corps de Logis wing of the Imperial Castle. Since 2001 the museum is part of the Scientific Institution of Public Law "Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna with Museum of Ethnology and Austrian Theater Museum."
Today the Museum of Ethnology Vienna preserves, i.a., more than 200,000 ethnographic artifacts, 25,000 historical photographs, and 136,000 books and journals primarily on the culture and history on non-European peoples. Since 2006 the museum also owns the Human-Ethological Film Archive Eibl-Eibesfeldt with more than 300 kilometers of film about the daily life of five traditional societies in Africa (!Kung, Himba), South America (Yanomami), and Oceania (Trobriand, Eipo/In-Yalenang).
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