MoAW presents
Spotlight
TUTANKHAMUN: "Wonderful Things"
Treasures From The Pharaoh's Tomb
New Member Benefit
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TUTANKHAMUN: "Wonderful Things"
Treasures From The Pharaoh's Tomb
From the artisans of the Pharaonic Village in Egypt, this dazzling collection of reproductions of Tutankhamun’s legendary treasures recreates the richest archaeological find of all time.
124 replicas of the Pharaoh’s sacred and personal possessions are on view (including his magnificent state chariot, golden shrines, beds, thrones, jewelry, spectacular funerary mask, and royal mummy) along with associated artifacts from the period surrounding Tutankhamun’s reign that reconstruct both the historic discovery of the tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 and the life and times of Egypt’s celebrated boy king.
An innocent puppet ruler, Tutankhamun was caught in the midst of a dangerous and profound political, spiritual, and artistic revolution against the entire pantheon of ancient Egyptian gods by the first monotheistic religious cult in history. The pharaoh’s much overlooked African heritage is explored, along with the religious magic of the sacred objects, and the infamous curse of Tutankhamun.
This classic exhibition vividly brings to life the enigmatic opulent age of 18th Dynasty Egypt, presented in five areas of display beginning with an introduction to Ancient Egypt with a focus on Akhenaten and Nefertiti and the archaeological discovery of the Canopic and Anubis shrines flanked by the twin Ka statutes, which provoked the now famous, “What do you see? I see Wonderful Things!” exclamation by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon.
Artifacts related to the personal life of the pharaoh such as his bed, sandals, and jewelry, followed by artifacts associated with his public life including his royal state chariot, throne, and scepters, and, finally, the burial chamber with his bejeweled mummy with crown, mummifying bed, and wishing cup, to mention a few, are just some of the sights you would be treated to.
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We were totally unprepared for such a large quantity of visitors, and in view of the preservation of the antiquities they being very crowded and in poor preservation, we were obliged to refuse admission until some preparation was made to safeguard the objects. - Howard Carter
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Statue of Tutankhamun
with a Harpoon.
Wearing the red deshret crown of Lower Egypt, Tutankhamun is ritually depicted in this gilded hardwood statue as the god Horus, standing on a papyrus raft with his arm upraised to harpoon the evil, scheming god Seth in the form of an invisible hippopotamus (an image considered too dangerous for inclusion in the tomb). Discovered in the Treasury as a pair, sealed together inside a black wooden shrine and draped in linen shawls dating from the 3rd year of Akhenaton’s reign, the statues may have been leftover from a prior burial and reworked for Tutankhamun’s. Sculpted in the graceful, animated Amarna style, the pharaoh is dressed in a pleated kilt with sandals and a beaded collar. In his left hand, he holds a symbolic coil of rope for hauling in his prey.
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The statue is an allegorical representation of the innocence vanquishing evil in the form of the swamp demon. In actuality, Tutankhamun’s foes may have included his revered vizier and trusted Master of Horse, the “Divine Father” Ay. Father of the late Queen Nefertiti and the brother of the late Queen Tiye (Akhenaton’s Nubian mother), Ay was the grandfather of Ankhesenamun, whose useful marriage to the pharaoh (his grandnephew) he probably arranged. Tutankhamun’s untimely death, when he was just old enough to assert his independence, may have been a convenience to the factions that had controlled his rule since childhood. The aged Ay succeeded the young pharaoh only briefly, followed by the powerful general Horemheb, whose ruthless treachery thwarted the widowed Ankesenamun’s attempt to remarry after Tutankhamun’s death, ensuring the end of the heretic family (whose memory he sought to obliterate) and the end of the 18th Dynasty. |
Menkheret Carrying Tutankhamun.
The occult funeral rites, faithfully perpetuated by those who had long forgotten their remote origins, were primarily concerned with the various stages of the pharaoh’s rebirth as the living god. In the Treasury, sealed in small, black wooden shrines and undisturbed since the ancient burial day was a collection of gilded hardwood figures ritually associated with what the ancients referred to as “the divine ennead which is in the Netherworld,” of the 9 divinities of Heliopolis.
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Inscribed with the prenomen Nebkheprure on its black varnished base, this statue of the spirit Menkheret reverently bearing aloft the little pharaoh in his mummy shroud (wearing the red deshret crown) tenderly depicts the initial lethargy of the newborn divinity as he embarks, with the assistance of the gods, upon his journey beyond death. |
MoAW's mission is to educate a diverse audience about the history of ancient civilizations and prehistoric life using fossils and artifacts from a variety of cultures and time periods; to enhance universal curriculum development for local and surrounding school districts, colleges, and universities while establishing museum diversity for the Coachella Valley.
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Saturday
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.
The last admission is taken one hour before closing.
Admission:
$15.00 Adults
$12.00 Students, Seniors, & Military
$ 3.00 Discount available for Coachella Valley Residents
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, MoAW is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association, the American Alliance of Museums, and the California Association of Museums.
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Coming Attraction
March through September 2022
the Museum of Ancient Wonders
presents
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VESSELS OF THE GODS
Treasures of the Ancient Greeks
1650 to 410 B.C.E
Reflecting the brilliance of a millennium of ancient Aegean culture, four distinct periods produced the designs of these vases: Minoan, Mycenaean, Corinthian, and Attic. Essentially consisting of silhouetted figures drawn against a background of red, black, or white, this art form gradually dies out after the Persian wars, c. 475-450 B.C.E. Shaped and painted by hand, these exquisite reproductions were created in Greece by master artists from the originals housed in The National Museum, Athens, The Heraklion Museum, The Thera Museum, The Corinth Museum, The Delphi Museum, The Louvre Museum, The Vatican Museum, and The Museo Civico, Brescia.
Please, feel free to preview this collection on MoAW's website: www.moaw.org
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Next Week:
Do you have a favorite piece at MoAW you would like to see highlighted in our weekly email? You can visit www.moaw.org, see the collections tab, visit the catalogs, and view Spotlights From The Past.
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Members Perks
So many reasons to join MoAW, you help keep the museum open, allow us to acquire new treasured artifacts and fossil displays, plan and present programs, to help local students learn about ancient civilizations and prehistoric life.
The newest perk of membership: Free admission to over 1,200 museums nationwide through the North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM) Plus, discounts at their museum shops and restaurants (if given to their members). Local museums include the Palm Springs Art Museum and Cabot's Pueblo Museum, several museums in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, throughout California, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia, plus Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. This is available to all members at the Donor Level ($125.00) or higher. Current members who qualify will be receiving new membership cards with the NARM logo to be used at participating museums.
Current members who would like to upgrade their membership to take advantage of this new benefit please give us a call, (442) 268-5004.
Click below for more information and to join.
THANK YOU
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ON DISPLAY EXCLUSIVELY
AT THE
MUSEUM OF ANCIENT WONDERS
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FACES OF AFRICA:
A Mystical View of
Tribal Heritage
(38 Replica Masks and Sculptures)
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TUTANKHAMUN:
"Wonderful Things"
Treasures From The Pharaoh's Tomb
(124 Egyptian replicas)
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MESOZOICA:
The Age of Dinosaurs
(Approximately 100 fossil-cast dinosaur elements and fully-mounted skeletons from around the world.)
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LUCY:
The Story of Human Origins
(Courtesy of the Institute of Human Origins and the National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa)
On view exclusively at the
Museum of Ancient Wonders
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