By Nii B. Andrews.
Tuntankhamun achieved world fame when his almost intact burial chamber was discovered in 1922.
The tomb was small because the boy king died unexpectedly and a more finished non-royal tomb was used for his burial close to 3000 years ago.
The contents of Tuntankhamun’s tomb showed a dazzling wealth and array of royal funerary paraphernalia. Some of the furniture designs remain avant-garde even today.
His coffin consisted of a set of three, nestled within one another.
The innermost coffin, which was mummy-shaped and made of solid gold, and the middle coffin, which was made of gilded wood, were removed soon after their discovery and taken to Cairo’s National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, where they remain on display today.
The outer coffin which was gilded plaster was left in situ and only moved for the first time this July.
It has been found to have developed cracks in its layers of plaster particularly in the lid and the base.
The two-metre-long coffin was transported on the 650km journey from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor – in the south of the country, to the soon to be open Grand Egyptian Museum, which is located close to the Pyramids of Giza, under tight security.
The restoration work, which is being carried out in the museum’s state-of-the-art conservation centre, will include non-invasive repairs to the plaster and gilding and is expected to take at least eight months.
In a highly sophisticated operation, the moving team was reported to have used anti-vibration units to protect the weak structure of the piece and packed the space around it with acid-free materials that absorb humidity.
The gilded plaster outer coffin at restoration site in Giza.
After arriving at the museum, the coffin was isolated in a separate room for seven days and then fumigated.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is scheduled to open in 2020.
The discovery of Tuntankhamun’s tomb in November 1922, lead to yet another Egyptian Revival period in architecture and interior design.
Art Deco designs joined Egyptian-inspired animals and symbols to create a totally new look.
Enthusiasm for the artistic style of Ancient Egypt widely commenced with Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson’s defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.
Prior to that some strongly Egyptian influenced works of art had appeared in scattered European settings from the time of the Renaissance.
