One of two statues of Tutankhamun found in his tomb's Treasury, the pharaoh stands on top of a black rectangular base with his left leg forward, a male pose typical in ancient Egyptian sculpture. Found wrapped in linen, the ritual figure grasps a flail (symbol of royal authority) and a curved staff (representing the ruler's role as shepherd of his subjects). Tutankhamun's conical "white crown" indicates his dominion over Upper Egypt, the region south of the Nile River Delta. The effigy's visibly protruding breasts and belly are notable artistic conventions from the previous Amarna Period, when the boy-king's father, the heretical Akhenaten (ca. 1353-1336 B.C.), briefly effected a revolution in both Egyptian religion and art. This masterpiece and nearly 120 others from the reigns of the young monarch and his relatives are presently on display in Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.
For further reading:
Freed, Rita E., Yvonne J. Markowitz and Sue H. D'Auria (eds.), et al.
Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen (exh. cat.).
Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1999.
James, T.G.H. Tutankhamun.
New York: MetroBooks, 2000.
"Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" is on view from May 26, 2006 through January 1, 2007 at The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496 (Telephone: 312-922-9410; Website). The museum is open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with last admission at 4:00 PM. Advance tickets to the special exhibition that include museum admission may be purchased on the museum's website. Paid parking is available in two garages and the Adler Planetarium lot, all within the Museum Campus.
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From your Guide: Stan Parchin, Senior Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions, is a specialist in ancient, late-medieval and Renaissance art and history, and a regular contributor to About Art History. You may read all of his Special Exhibition and Catalogue Reviews here.
For further reading:
Freed, Rita E., Yvonne J. Markowitz and Sue H. D'Auria (eds.), et al.
Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen (exh. cat.).
Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1999.
James, T.G.H. Tutankhamun.
New York: MetroBooks, 2000.
"Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" is on view from May 26, 2006 through January 1, 2007 at The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496 (Telephone: 312-922-9410; Website). The museum is open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with last admission at 4:00 PM. Advance tickets to the special exhibition that include museum admission may be purchased on the museum's website. Paid parking is available in two garages and the Adler Planetarium lot, all within the Museum Campus.
**************************
From your Guide: Stan Parchin, Senior Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions, is a specialist in ancient, late-medieval and Renaissance art and history, and a regular contributor to About Art History. You may read all of his Special Exhibition and Catalogue Reviews here.