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The Danville Community Center was dim as Fine Arts Museum docent Kate Sculti began to talk about “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” and show slides to try to convey the magnificence of the collection at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through March 28.
The Treasures of Tutankhamun were on display in the old de Young Museum 30 years ago, she noted, and were a huge draw. “Now we say that Tut is back and has brought his family with him,” Sculti told the 100-plus members of the audience Wednesday afternoon.
“The discovery of the tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter captured the imagination of people around the world,” said Sculti.
The objects in the exhibit have an exquisite and strange beauty, she said. “But they are more intriguing for their antiquity.”
King Tut reined from 1332-1322 BCE, apparently one of the last kings in Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. He was known as the Boy King. He was only 6 years old when King Akhenaten, who is supposed to be his father, died. He was 9 when he ascended the throne and married his half sister, Ankhesenpaaton.
“Together their claim to the throne was stronger,” explained Sculti, and apparently their marriage was happy.
Her lecture included explanations of the civilization that grew up around the fertile Nile Valley and lasted 3,000 years. Although life was orderly as people settled down to an agrarian life, there was also chaos, including attacks in the river by man-sized crocodiles. The hippopotamus was a danger to boats on the river. The Pharaohs imposed order and were in charge of appeasing the gods.
“Because they lived so close with mature, they saw themselves as part of it,” said Sculti. “They showed more concern for the next life than any other civilization.
“This provided the Egyptians with hope in death and comfort for the loved ones of knowing their loved ones were still in the world around them.”
Because people were believed to need material and moral support in the next life, many objects were included in their burial to serve them. They created small likenesses called “shabtis” to substitute for the deceased in doing work in the next life.
“There were 413 shabtis found in Tut’s tomb,” said Sculti.
Sculti showed a family tree for King Tutankhamun, noting that DNA testing is being done to verify his lineage. Her slides also showed the spare, brown Valley of the Kings, across the Nile River from Luxor, which was the ancient city of Thebes.
“The tombs were dug deep into the cliffs to conceal them, and the limestone was soft enough to be diggable,” she said. “But most were sacked.”
“King Tut’s was the only tomb found intact,” Sculti said, although there were signs of two attempts that had been made and the tomb had been resealed.
When Carter made the discovery in 1922, his funder Lord Carnavon immediately left for Egypt for the unveiling and they also sent for help from the Metropolitan Museum of New York. It sent Harry Burton, said Sculti, who documented the proceedings by taking 1,400 photographs.
“He used primitive equipment but he captured the thrill and the hard work,” she noted, while showing some of the images.
The lecture was presented by the Friends of the Danville Library and the Town of Danville.
