For archaeologist Howard Carter, the autumn of 1922 looked as if it would be his last in the Valley of the Kings. After years of fruitless fieldwork, the financier Lord Carnarvon was ready to give up. But on the 4th of November, a staircase was found that led to a door, emblazoned with the seal of the royal necropolis. The tomb belonged to a relatively unknown pharaoh by the name of Tutankhamun.
Roughly three weeks later, Carter peeked into the tomb for the first time through a small peephole. In response to a nervous question from Carnarvon, he is said to have replied: “Yes, I see wonderful things!”
The discovery contributed to an increased interest in Ancient Egypt in large parts of the world. In Sweden a special Egypt committee was founded and in March 1929 the Egyptian museum opened in Gamla Stan, Stockholm. In 1954 the Egyptian museum became part of the the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities.
Howard Carter himself visited Sweden and the Egyptian museum in the summer of 1930 to talk about Tutankhamun’s tomb, which he was still busy with – carrying out, documenting and packing the many grave goods. The fieldwork and the objects were documented by the photographer Harry Burton, a selection of which are displayed in the exhibition.
Among plenty of other things, over 400 textiles were found in the tomb - everything from simple loincloths to richly embroidered ceremonial tunics and mantles in both child and adult sizes. Reconstructions of some of the garments Carter found in the grave will be shown in the exhibition.
The reconstructed garments are on loan from the Textile Museum in Borås. The clothes were included in the exhibition Tutankhamun’s wardrobe which was shown at the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in 2003 and after that toured the world.
The exhibition is on view until March 5 2013.
The exhibition is sometimes not publicly accessible, due to programme events or that Salongen is booked for another event. To check if the exhibition is open please call the museum's host 010-456 12 98.
