November 2022. This month marks the 100th anniversary of when archaeologist Howard Carter and his team discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings.
With this in mind, I wanted to write a few lines to honour the young Pharaoh. Having been in Egypt on a couple of occasions, back in 2006, and again in 2008, I’ve visited his tomb where he still lies and experienced the treasures held in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Photography inside the tomb was forbidden. Then in 2019, I found myself at the Saatchi Gallery here in London, where ‘Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh’ was on show. Memories of attending the exhibition at the British Museum along with the crowds back in 1972 came flooding back. I was very young at the time, but I remember the hoards of people. And of course, the mask.
The Wishing Cup. It was one of the first objects which Carter saw on opening the tomb. Shaped like a lotus blossom with two buds and carved from a single piece of alabaster. We see the cartouches with the prenomen, or throne name and nomen, the name given at birth. The throne name on the right, Nebkheperure, is the name by which the people of Egypt knew him. Neb kheperu Ra. The Sun god. Lord of Manifestations. The cartouche on the left shows Tut ankh Amun. The living image of Amun. The birth name variant would be his original name Tut ankh Aten. The living image of Aten.
O you who keep the gates because of Osiris, I know you and I know your names
Spell 144
Egyptian Book of the Dead
Around the rim is inscribed the wish for his spirit or ka’s long life. With Heh, the god of eternity on each handle, along with the symbols of the ankh, the chalice is a powerful symbol of rebirth and eternal life. On first seeing it, I was blown away by its energy.
Tutankhamun reigned from 1336 – 1326bc, or thereabouts it is thought. However, it is not my intention to write at length about his life. What little we know of it is well documented and speculated about. Few have been scrutinised to the extent he has and still is. The eternal mystery. Somehow, I feel that his truth will never be fully known or understood. Perhaps it will. When we are ready to receive it. If we ever are. For me, he will always hold a fascination.
May your spirit live, may you spend millions of years, you who love Thebes, sitting with your face to the north wind, your eyes beholding happiness
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