Could Tutankhamun's opening exhibition in Houston be the last exhibition ever to travel abroad? Nevine El-Aref investigates the future of the Golden King Almost five decades since its first appearance in Bayou City in Houston, Pharaoh Tutankhamun and his gold treasures are back on display in the southern United States city. Houstonians can visit the unique collection from 16 October to 12 April 2012. On the opening day last Sunday, visitors flocked to the Upper Brown Pavilion of the Caroline Wiess Law Building at the Fine Arts Museum in Houston to glimpse the treasured items that once belonged to the boy king Tutankhamun and his ancestors at the "Tutankhamun: the Golden King and the Great Pharaohs" exhibition. The touring collection fills seven galleries and comprises 130 splendid ancient Egyptian artefacts from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, many of which have never left home before. These objects focus on the splendour of the Egyptian Pharaohs of the ancient Egyptian Kingdoms, their function in the earthly and divine worlds, and what kingship meant to the Egyptian people. Fifty of the pieces are from Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb, while the rest feature the treasures of his ancestor rulers from the pyramid builders of the Old Kingdom through to and including the Late Period. The exhibition is organised thematically, with the first six galleries presenting the life of the Pharaoh and his position in ancient Egypt. The objects on display represent some of the most powerful rulers of Egypt, such as the owner of the second pyramid of Giza, Khafre; the queen who became a Pharaoh, Hatshepsut; and Psusennes I, whose magnificent golden death mask is on display. The seventh and last gallery is devoted to the treasures of the golden king Tutankhamun. The first two galleries, "The Great Pharaohs", are dedicated to the major Pharaohs of ancient Egypt. These galleries are a superb introduction to the basic concepts of kingship in ancient times, displaying a varied collection of colossal statues of kings from the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Among these is a diorite statue of the Middle Kingdom ruler Amenemhat III, whose reign represented a long and stable period during which the economy flourished, the borders of Egypt remained protected, trade increased and the central administration was reorganised. It was also during Amenemhat's reign that the style of sculpture changed. A quartzite bas-relief of Horemhab; an unbaked clay head of Amenhotep III wearing the blue crown, found in the Karnak cachette; a kneeling marble statue of Queen Hatshepsut holding out a vessel attached to a djed-pillar and making offerings to the gods; and a beautifully carved sculpture of Ramses II -- considered one of the finest works of its era -- are also on show. The next three galleries, "Pharaoh's Family and Private Life", "Pharaoh's Court" and "Pharaoh's Religion", contain artefacts illustrating the royal family, life at court, and traditional and revolutionary ideology. Frances Marzio, the exhibition curator, told Houston News that every detail had been considered to make the exhibition as engaging as possible. Marzio described the exhibition as a dual experience, and added that, after setting the stage, the exhibition turned to the amazing treasures of the boy king. Large black-and-white images of the archaeological site give visitors an idea of the place where Carter and his team uncovered more than 2,000 objects from Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings on Luxor's west bank. The exhibition showcases 50 exquisite items from the boy king's tomb, such as a gold and lapis lazuli necklace with a triple-scarab pectoral found within the wrappings of Tutankhamun's mummy, and gold finger and toe covers found on the mummy. These gold covers, or stalls, were believed to protect the young king from magical dangers. A replica and the CT scans of Tutankhamun's mummy are also on show. The exhibition has been organised by the National Geographic Society, Arts and Exhibitions International and AEG Exhibitions with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, which sent a delegation to the opening. The rooms and passages exemplify the life of Egyptian kings and queens, focussing on their time at court, religious beliefs and family life. The audio tour was narrated by Harrison Ford, aka Indiana Jones, Hollywood's most famous explorer. Although Houston has fallen under the spell of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, it is widely thought that a large number of visitors could come to the exhibition because they think this might be the last chance to see Tutankhamun's treasured collection, since the tour might soon come to an end and the objects return to Egypt. Mark Lach, senior vice-president and creative director of Arts and Exhibitions International, one of the show's for-profit organisers, told Houston News that Egypt was allowing the objects to travel to raise funds for the restoration of monuments and artefacts and to build a $700 million museum in Cairo. Once the Grand Egyptian Museum is built, he continued, "this is probably the last time they'll travel, and they'll go to their permanent home there." Since the Tutankhamun exhibition began its European-American tour in 2004, some critics in Egypt have questioned the legality of sending such priceless artefacts abroad, while in the host countries there have been questions as to whether the collection is appropriate for art museums. The voices of critics in Egypt grew increasingly louder after the January Revolution, with some Egyptologists calling for no more exhibitions to be sent abroad. They claim that touring exhibitions are a threat to the objects and decrease the number of tourists who might otherwise come to Egypt to see them. Mustafa Amin, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Al-Ahram Weekly that from his personal point of view such exhibitions were a superb promotion of Egypt's history, as well as generating enormous profits to be used on restoration and building new museums. "Exhibitions abroad are Egypt's archaeological ambassador," Amin said. He added that he was totally in disagreement with the argument that exhibitions like this one would prevent tourists from coming to Egypt. Quite the contrary. "I lived abroad for quite some time and they don't think like that," Amin told the Weekly. He said that these exhibitions amounted to free promotion for Egyptian tourism and archaeological sites. "When foreigners admire the splendour of our monumental history, they do their best to travel to Egypt and come face to face with the places and the country that produced such wonderful artefacts," he said. Amin also said that the law was the only means that could determine the validity of touring exhibitions. "If the law prohibited any unique artefact from travelling I would not do it," he said, adding that the law stood above anything and anyone.
