Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-11-05

the Lenin tomb on Red Squa
our trust in royal burialS
and the same lesson is taught
by Tutankhamun, although
in reverse. In his lifetime
Tutankhamun was one Of the
most fundamentally insignifi-
cant rulers of ancient Egypt.
AS a result, his tomb was far
out-statused by the nearby,
more roomy tomb of Ramses
VI and as a result Of that
the grave-robbers who looted
the latter thoroughly buried
the entrance to Tutankha-
nuns m Oldest repository.
Thus, while most of the royal
Egyptian tombs were sacked
our mans remained intact
!. until 1922, when it was
opened by modern Egyptolo-
gistS and Tutankhamun, UNI
der the headline name Of
King Tut, became the best
known and doubtless the best
loved of all the pharaohS.
The other circumstance is
Syria, which resigned from
the JAR and resumed her
maiden name in the midst of
the final preparations for the
present exhibition. Similarly,
in the time of King Tut's i'm
mediate predecessor, Akhna-
ton, Syria rebelled against
Egyptian rule, leading to a
decline in Egyptian power and
the take-over of power and
new pharoah alike by the
priests of Anon. who re-
named the teen-age pharoah
living image of Anon" or
Tutankhamun.
Golden Relics
The "a pieces on view are
all small, compared to mum
my-cases; most of them are
made of gold. some of alabas-
ter, with the gold often dec
Grated with inlaid lapis lazu-
Ii, carnelian and colored
glass. Most of the "a are Sc
; lections from the more than
! 1000 objects found in King
) Tut's tomb and several were
closely associated with the
, corpse itself. These include a
gold dagger and sheath, high
ly decorated, and assorted
! jewelry.
Most effective, perhaps, Of
the pieces on view are the
symbols of power, familiar to
, any viewer of Egyptian art
anywhere. The fail and the
crook, of gold and blue glass,
I symbolic the rulers power as
shepherd of his people and as
overseer of their efforts. The
crook survives as the staff of
Christian bishops. the fail as
the ceremonial fly-whisk Of
African chiefs.
Craftsmanship
The craftsmanship is uni
formly impressive. The dag
ger and its sheath are good
examples. The hilt is covered
with gold beadwork arranged
in abstract designs. The
sheath has an inciSed design
Of wild animals attacking one
another in a grouping of
great grace and style. The
feather-markings on bird
wings in several pieces speak
of precise work with chisels
on the part of the makers.
OF extraordinary interest is
a miniature coffin, the dupli-
cate of the full-size one. The
small version, richly inscribed
, with hieroglyphics and dec
Grated with the full length
. image of the king, was made
: to hold his internal organs.
The Final Curse
AS this newspaper has re-
. Gently explained, there is
nothing to the legend Of
. King Tut's curse" thought
. so long to haunt the archeolo-
gists who opened the tomb.
The only people, apparently,
I. actually haunted by the curse
were the promotion managers
of more sensational newspa-
pers in a more sensational
epoch of Anglo-American
|. journalism. Yet, in the hand
; full of gold found in the des-
: ert around a handful of dust,
. the visitor can still perceive
/. the working of a fate that
; can reasonably be called the
curse Of King Tut. Like so
many before him and since
engaged or entangled in the
business Of power, he en-
: trusted his fame to the hands
of skilled but humble artists
: and craftsmen. Millenia lat
er, in a land never dreamt
Z of in his day, their work sur
wives, his does not.
Jointly arranged by the
JAR, the Smithsonian Trav-
cling Exhibition Service and
the American Association Of
: Museums, the show is intend
: ed to stimulate interest in
. America in the enormous SAL
> wage program sponsored by
: UNESCO for the Nubian
monuments threatened by
{ the Aswan Dam project" The
exhibition is the finest COL
+. lection of Egyptian artifacts
ever seen outside Egypt and
will tour America for almost
two years after closing at
. the National Gallery Deem
Der 3.
Beihseda. Chevy Chase
Il Custom Picture Fronting