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After the Rush at the King Tut Exhibit

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As we were leaving, we were told by a harried, exhausted, but friendly worker that there had been 6000 visitors in 3 hours. I wasn’t surprised to hear it. What did surprise me is we’d purchased tickets a couple of months ago because I had the impression sell-out crowds were being anticipated and that it was first come, first served as they didn’t want to overextend, and we’d wanted to make sure we’d be able to get in the day after Thanksgiving when Marty’s mother was visiting. So, we weren’t expecting quite the crush we found ourselves in. The flow was such that we felt compelled to hurry through and not examine as closely as we would have liked, and it seemed most around us felt the same pressure. Which was a shame because the exhibit was lovely and begged more time to drink it all in. Consequently, we’ll spend a good period of time examining the study guides made available by the Carlos.

2008 nov 28 tut
H.o.p. hamming it up outside the King Tut Exhibit

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Juli Kearns

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7 responses to “After the Rush at the King Tut Exhibit”

  1. Nina Avatar
    Nina

    Well, I’m kind of glad to hear that there was a crowd, but very sorry that it affected the quality of your visit. It is a good exhibition, but wouldn’t be fun to see in a rush or with a crushing crowd. The study guides, I’m glad you found them! A graduate student wrote those this summer. I think she did a great job!

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  2. Idyllopus Avatar
    Idyllopus

    Nina, she did a great job. I was hoping there might be something on the bust/mask (?) of Paser but there wasn’t.

    I know you’ve seen the exhibit and probably have the catalogue at work. Would you do me a favor and look up the bust of Paser? There is an engraving on the chest that I was wondering about. A queer sort of face that I’ve seen before but don’t remember anything about. Oddly, I recollect reading up on Paser some years ago and for all I know it could have been in connection with that queer little facial representation that I was looking him up. But doing a search online for him and relevant images I’m not finding what we saw at the exhibit.

    I would have sketched the face there but I didn’t bring a pencil and I didn’t want security leaping on me for bringing out a pen. And, of course, no photos were permitted. The way the ears are in relation to the face in the engraving reminds me a lot of the so-called Agamemnon’s death mask, if that helps you any.

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  3. Idyllopus Avatar
    Idyllopus

    P.S. If we’d been there on a less-crowded day it would have been great, as had my brother and his wife. They went on Wednesday and it wasn’t as crowded–plus, they got a discount just walking in off the street.

    Now we need to get down to the Carlos!

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  4. Idyllopus Avatar
    Idyllopus

    P.P.S. I was also curious about the size of some of the bracelets. I forget the women to whom they belonged but they were quite small, in particular one of them. Do you know which one I’m talking about? I think it was made primarily of carnelian and lapis lazuli and gold beads. It was paired with a gold bracelet, in the exhibit, that was only slightly larger. The wrist size looked more appropriate for a small child and yet they were also quite hefty.

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  5. Nina Avatar
    Nina

    I have seen the exhibit and we do have the catalog so when I’m at work I’ll be happy to look that up. As I read your description (and I’m not specifically recalling the piece to which you refer) I wonder if the odd little face might be a representation of Hathor. She shows up on things often and can look a little funny. Yes, the exhibit at the Carlos, of the photos, is well worth seeing so definitely come. I’ll be glad to give you free passes for that. Just let me know when you’ll be coming. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do about the costs at the Civic Center or I’d be glad to give you free passes to that, too, so you can see it again. I understand that weekdays after about 1 PM the attendance is pretty light right now. I know exactly which bracelet you are describing because I’d been struck, too, by how tiny that was. I have pretty small wrists, I think, but not that tiny! And I’ll tell Flora, the person who wrote the TUTorials, that you think she did a great job.

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  6. Idyllopus Avatar
    Idyllopus

    Hathor! That’s it. I had made a sketch of a carving of her at the Louvre exhibit at the High this past summer and if I’d pulled out my moleskin to make a sketch at the Civic Center I likely would have seen it immediately in my notes. Thanks! I knew you’d know what I was talking about.

    And thanks for the offer on the Carlos passes. Will take you up on that and let you know when.

    Yes, tell Flora. I’ve looked through them and am planning on going through them with H.o.p. this coming week while the exhibit is fresh on our minds.

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  7. Nina Avatar
    Nina

    That’s gratifying that I figured out what you meant! It was your reference to the face looking like Agamemnon’s death mask that had me thinking of Hathor. I could picture that death mask in my mind and how it might look like her.

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