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Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs
This book is the official companion to the National Geographic Exhibition of the same name. Featuring hundreds of full colour photographs, the volume delves into the rich treasure trove of objects from the reigns and tombs of fabled Egyptian kings and queens. Statues, furniture, urns and other funerary implements to ease the passage to the afterlife, jewellery and bas-relief panels are all included, and each photograph is accompanied by a precise description of materials, subject and significance. Zahi Hawass' text chronicles pharaonic history, and presents fascinating chapters on everything from everyday life, to elaborate ceremonies and an account of Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb in 1922.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 4, 2019
A wonderful accompaniment to the exhibition of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. It offers an in-depth exploration of Ancient Egypt's 18th Dynasty and the pieces selected for the exhibit. 5 stars.
February 13, 2012
A slim volume but full of well captioned photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts from an exhibit which I got to see. A very cool reminder of that day in Philadelphia.
The text covers Tutankhamun's life as well as the results of a CT scan of his mummy. Those images are both really interesting and kind of creepy. Either way, yay for science.
The text covers Tutankhamun's life as well as the results of a CT scan of his mummy. Those images are both really interesting and kind of creepy. Either way, yay for science.
May 12, 2020
This was a trip back into the past as I pulled this from the shelf when I viewed the Tut exhibit at the Franklin Museum in Philadelphia in 2007. Stuck between the pages was a map, my ticket, wristband and confirmation notice that I registered to buy a ticket nearly a year earlier. I hadn't realized I had kept all those 'now' mementos of the trip.
Anyway, this is written by Dr. Hawass when he was Secretaries General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and his writing style is straight-forward without much embellishment. Initially the focus is on early Egyptian history moving forward to the 18th dynasty, funerary practices as well as the life and funeral of Pharaoh Tutankhamen and eventually the results of a CAD scan of Tut's mummy which revealed a youthful slender 19-year-old male, with the elongated skull which may confirm the Amarna artistic styling of the Pharaoh Ankenaten's family may actually have been more life-like than idealized.
And the photos. This book is lavishly illustrated with professional photos of artifacts - many from Tut's tomb while many others from the combined - mostly unplundered - tomb of Yuya and Tjuya, he a powerful courtier and she, a high priestess, and who are the parents of the Great Royal Wife, Tiye, possible mother to Tutankhamen. And the over 100 pieces from the so-called catalog not only give descriptions of what it's made of, the size and location of it's discovery, but more in-depth. What makes it unique, what it was used for, the origin appearance when discovered.
The details are stupendous. You can see the brush strokes in some wall paintings. You can see the tiny beads of gold on the handle of the golden dagger buried within the wrappings. The counter-weights - that are as highly detailed and encrusted with mostly glass - of all those heavy pectoral collars that were worn. I never even knew that there were counterweights but it makes total sense.
Also there are also photos taken from the original excavation. Where you can see the tightly packed tomb with the thousands of artifacts - the haphazard manner may be more attributed to the guards replacing stolen items after the tomb was raided in the distant pass. According to documents within the tomb, more than 60% of the jewelry originally buried with the Pharaoh was never recovered.
Anyway, in those photos are also views of wreaths of flowers and assorted plants, now all desiccated. The linen shrouds that wrapped many of the statues like a cloak, many crumbled to dust before they could be conserved. The shawl that partially covered the Anubis figure. You see the artifact of a gold fan guard that once held feathers and on the facing page, you can see the original photo which still has the 30 ostrich feathers still in place - they are now long disintegrated.
And there is actually a map of the Valley of the Kings, or rather the Western arm of it with not only tombs identified but the floor-plans are included. Which can get very confusing since some cross each other but feet/ yards/ separate them in actuality.
Seriously, a wonderful piece. Maybe not so much for the history but definitely for the pictures.
2020-094
Anyway, this is written by Dr. Hawass when he was Secretaries General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and his writing style is straight-forward without much embellishment. Initially the focus is on early Egyptian history moving forward to the 18th dynasty, funerary practices as well as the life and funeral of Pharaoh Tutankhamen and eventually the results of a CAD scan of Tut's mummy which revealed a youthful slender 19-year-old male, with the elongated skull which may confirm the Amarna artistic styling of the Pharaoh Ankenaten's family may actually have been more life-like than idealized.
And the photos. This book is lavishly illustrated with professional photos of artifacts - many from Tut's tomb while many others from the combined - mostly unplundered - tomb of Yuya and Tjuya, he a powerful courtier and she, a high priestess, and who are the parents of the Great Royal Wife, Tiye, possible mother to Tutankhamen. And the over 100 pieces from the so-called catalog not only give descriptions of what it's made of, the size and location of it's discovery, but more in-depth. What makes it unique, what it was used for, the origin appearance when discovered.
The details are stupendous. You can see the brush strokes in some wall paintings. You can see the tiny beads of gold on the handle of the golden dagger buried within the wrappings. The counter-weights - that are as highly detailed and encrusted with mostly glass - of all those heavy pectoral collars that were worn. I never even knew that there were counterweights but it makes total sense.
Also there are also photos taken from the original excavation. Where you can see the tightly packed tomb with the thousands of artifacts - the haphazard manner may be more attributed to the guards replacing stolen items after the tomb was raided in the distant pass. According to documents within the tomb, more than 60% of the jewelry originally buried with the Pharaoh was never recovered.
Anyway, in those photos are also views of wreaths of flowers and assorted plants, now all desiccated. The linen shrouds that wrapped many of the statues like a cloak, many crumbled to dust before they could be conserved. The shawl that partially covered the Anubis figure. You see the artifact of a gold fan guard that once held feathers and on the facing page, you can see the original photo which still has the 30 ostrich feathers still in place - they are now long disintegrated.
And there is actually a map of the Valley of the Kings, or rather the Western arm of it with not only tombs identified but the floor-plans are included. Which can get very confusing since some cross each other but feet/ yards/ separate them in actuality.
Seriously, a wonderful piece. Maybe not so much for the history but definitely for the pictures.
2020-094
December 22, 2011
When my best friend went to Chicago and saw that ancient Egypt exhibit, she brought me back this book. Though a short read, it was fascinating to hear about the virtual reconstruction of Tutankhamun's face virtually and what they've been able to gather about his life and death just from studying his body. Other members of his family were also included, and the pictures helped make it all more interesting.
August 7, 2025
Beautiful collector's piece.
December 27, 2021
Sometimes the so called “coffee table book” will surprise you. I glanced through this one in the library and found the photos mesmerizing. Reading it was a pleasant surprise although it really shouldn’t have been. It is written by one of my heroes; Zahi Hawass.
I am an admitted armchair archeologist and Ancient Egypt is one of my favorite topics. I subscribe to Archaeology magazines and watch the tv documentaries whenever I can. Dr Hawass is always entertaining and informative and his enthusiasm is infectious.
As I said, the pictures in this book are stunning but the text is even better. The depth of Hawass’s knowledge and interpretive ability is wonderful. Not only will you see fabulous close up pictures of the artifacts but the multilayered symbolism of each object is thoroughly explained.
The avid enthusiast and the casual history lover will both find plenty to enjoy with this book. Highly recommended.
I am an admitted armchair archeologist and Ancient Egypt is one of my favorite topics. I subscribe to Archaeology magazines and watch the tv documentaries whenever I can. Dr Hawass is always entertaining and informative and his enthusiasm is infectious.
As I said, the pictures in this book are stunning but the text is even better. The depth of Hawass’s knowledge and interpretive ability is wonderful. Not only will you see fabulous close up pictures of the artifacts but the multilayered symbolism of each object is thoroughly explained.
The avid enthusiast and the casual history lover will both find plenty to enjoy with this book. Highly recommended.
July 7, 2018
Your classic well done coffee table book. I just saw the current Tut exhibit in LA and talked myself out of the $85 companion book in the gift shop. This has great clear close up pictures of many of the same items.
February 4, 2021
Saw the exhibition, so many details it is worth reading the guide cover to cover. Fabulous finds and amazing how ancient Egypt seems to grip everyone.
January 22, 2025
I've been fascinated by Egyptology since my childhood, so I read all the books and articles that I can get about this subject.
This tiny (15.5X 0.6X15.2 cm), 64 pages book cannot be exhaustive, even if it deals only with Tuntankhamun, probably the most famous pharaoh of Egypt.
This tiny book is a very fast read, especially since only 12 of its pages are full of texts, by Mr Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme council of Antiquities in Egypt, who reopened king Tut's sarcophagus and run a CT-scan which revealed new information that 3 previous examinations couldn't show because of limitations of x-ray technology.
This ''new information'' is now far less new, but over 10 years ago they shed light and disproved theories and speculations regarding Tut's dead. At this point in time, he is believed to have died at about age 19, probably from infection which set in a wound he sustained - most probably in battle.
As often, I dislike photos with a black contour, as I'm always afraid to leave finger marks. I prefer those with a white page, instead.
The book retraces very quickly the history prior to King Tut ; the first discovery of his tomb in 1922 and research about his life, all aided by Kenneth Garrett's photographs and comments, which are sometimes unfortunately quite difficult to read due to the font colors (white, black, orange...) and chosen background (white or black), not always clearly separated from the photo. They depict what I've come to expect from a book about archaeology and Egyptology : many objects, but also sarcophagus and burial chambers, as well as Mr Hawass & his team, and lastly, the CT-scan results, and, cherry on the cake, a photo representing king Tut's supposed appearance - using a latex model based on his skull.
This tiny (15.5X 0.6X15.2 cm), 64 pages book cannot be exhaustive, even if it deals only with Tuntankhamun, probably the most famous pharaoh of Egypt.
This tiny book is a very fast read, especially since only 12 of its pages are full of texts, by Mr Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme council of Antiquities in Egypt, who reopened king Tut's sarcophagus and run a CT-scan which revealed new information that 3 previous examinations couldn't show because of limitations of x-ray technology.
This ''new information'' is now far less new, but over 10 years ago they shed light and disproved theories and speculations regarding Tut's dead. At this point in time, he is believed to have died at about age 19, probably from infection which set in a wound he sustained - most probably in battle.
As often, I dislike photos with a black contour, as I'm always afraid to leave finger marks. I prefer those with a white page, instead.
The book retraces very quickly the history prior to King Tut ; the first discovery of his tomb in 1922 and research about his life, all aided by Kenneth Garrett's photographs and comments, which are sometimes unfortunately quite difficult to read due to the font colors (white, black, orange...) and chosen background (white or black), not always clearly separated from the photo. They depict what I've come to expect from a book about archaeology and Egyptology : many objects, but also sarcophagus and burial chambers, as well as Mr Hawass & his team, and lastly, the CT-scan results, and, cherry on the cake, a photo representing king Tut's supposed appearance - using a latex model based on his skull.
August 13, 2008
My husband & I drove for 7 hours to Chicago to see this exhibit in the Field Museum. Only to find out no pictures were allowed. None. Not even without using flash. I was lucky enough to find this book on Amazon.com for half the price it was listed for in the museum. Almost all of the artifacts that I viewed are in the book and now I have something I can show to people and say, I got to see that.
March 15, 2012
Gorgeous photographs of artifacts, lovely descriptions, and a relevant sprinkling of history. Complimentary to the exhibits and a worthy resource for those unable to visit but still wishing to see some of the treasures. Anyone looking for the most recent information on Tutankhamun should be aware this is a 2005 print. The book contains information about the CT scans and a photograph of the latex model.
June 23, 2014
It has admittedly been some time since I've read this book. I was seventeen at the time, and even than, though I admit that the photography is wonderful, it never really kept my interest past the photos due to being mostly information I had already read about in other sources. However this is my own personal opinion, and I can readily recommend it to those with a passing knowledge of the subject, or just people who love beautiful photography.
September 26, 2011
This is a beautifully presented brief introduction to the Tutankhamun collection and history. It is in an appealing hand size format which is not overwhelmong for those that don't often read non-fiction. It does contain enough information and unique photographs to engage those that already are fascinated by and study the era and its artifacts.
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February 14, 2010What else can I say? One of the most significant Egyptian collections / exhibitions in history, and one of my fondest memories. I consider myself very fortunate to have seen this exhibit in Philadelphia PA.
Want to read
September 22, 2008Don't tell my husband but I have a little crush on Zahi Hawass! I want to read all his stuff! BTW he has an amazing website, just google his name.
December 11, 2008
Love love love this book! :)
March 30, 2010
The exhibition was excellent and this book is a perfect companion to remind me of that glorious viewing.
June 22, 2010
I have always been geeked about Egyptology. The pictures are amazing - in-depth information, content is well organized.
July 24, 2010
We went to the Denver Art Museum to see the artifacts -- well worth the drive.
January 27, 2011
This was a great companion to a set of audio lectures on the history of Egypt.
Read
November 24, 2012it`s fantastic
Read
February 26, 2013Beautifully done with great photographs.
March 4, 2014
Amazing photographs but I would have liked more narrative about the rulers of Egypt and less about this artifict found in King Tut's tomb... I like history, not as much art history.
December 28, 2016
Good exhibition book
December 28, 2022
Great study of the treasures of King Tutankamun's tomb written by the Director of Antiquities for Egypt. Highly recommended!!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews