Tutankhamun on Tour

5th December 2019, 4:00 pm

From the glamourous Jacqueline Kennedy to the lines outside the Saatchi Gallery this autumn, it seems that everyone wants a glimpse of Tutankhamun’s treasures. But why, and why now?

Join Dr William Carruthers (East Anglia), Prof. Vivian Ibrahim (Mississippi), Prof. Christina Riggs (Durham and All Souls), and Dr Mario Schulze (Zurich), for this roundtable discussion and Q&A on Tutankhamun from the 1950s to today.  Tutankhamun found new fame in the Cold War, when tours of his tomb objects helped raise funds for temples in Egypt threatened by the Aswan High Dam.

Our speakers ask: what happens when archaeology meets diplomacy, and what made these particular objects so attractive for cultural exchange? Did these tours invent the blockbuster exhibition? Have they promoted consumer culture or imperial nostalgia? Come along to see Tutankhamun with fresh eyes.