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We had another date day in London, heading to the extraordinary Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. It was amazing and well worth a visit if you get the chance, though it was PACKED and you had to be very patient to get your turn to view each exhibit and be prepared to be jostled by a pensioner with no spatial awareness.
Usually this would infuriate me more, but I showed uncharacteristic reserve and waited my turn and actually only got mildly peeved by one young backpacker who kept moving into my way every time I attempted to look round her, knocking me with her backpack.
I hadn’t really known what to expect, but the quality and freshness of the grave goods was astonishing. Beautiful objects, some made of wood or even cloth, most looking like they might have been crafted last week, amazing statuettes that would look lovely on my coffee table and loads of information about the dig, the Egyptian afterlife and the history around the boy king. I had anticipated we might be in there for about two hours, but it was more like three and we only left then because we needed some lunch and to get home.
Much was made of the fact that the Egyptians believed that you died twice, once when you conked out and once more when the last person to say your name died. Though it turns out it can be more than once, as you get revived again if people start saying your name again later on. Which is good (or bad) news for Tut (depending on whether he enjoyed oblivion) whose successors attempted fairly successfully to erase him from history, but in doing so (I am presuming and half-remembering that they might also have been responsible for basically hiding away his tomb) actually turned him into the most famous Pharaoh ever, because he lay undiscovered for so long.
The thing that interested me (which I didn’t see an answer to, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t in there somewhere) was how the value of the spoils was divided. Lord Carnarvon had paid for the many attempts to find the treasure and for the necessary permits. Did the stuff belong to him or to Egypt? And what was Howard Carter’s cut?
Obsessed as I am with ticket sales and showbiz I was trying to work out how much money a day was being brought in from this exhibition - it must be a lot, maybe hundreds of thousands a day, but then again it must cost a lot to keep all these items preserved and safe and insured.
I’ve looked it up and turns out the Egyptian government took ownership of it all, which is only fair. But Carnarvon’s family (he himself had been the first to succumb to the curse that would eventually claim everyone who had worked on that dig - not one of them is still alive today)got a pay off of £35,000. Which isn’t much, even accounting for inflation. Still he was a Lord. He didn’t need the cash.
I just hope the Saatchis have made a few bob out of it. I worry about them.
We also had a ride on the virtual reality experience that takes you into the tomb. This was an additional £15.50 on top of the ticket price and only lasted around five to ten minutes, but I’d still say it was worth it for the experience and getting a context of the size of the tomb. Though it’s weird when you can’t see your legs and when you realise you are yourself entombed in the floor.
If I was allowed to take one thing home it might be the life sized statues of the figure guarding the tomb (one of a pair, so they could still show the other one), but I’d be happy with Tut’s pencil case. Or the excellent trumpet that can make wars happen when blown (which would be a bit more impressive if the wars broke out immediately and in the location of the blowing).
It’s a hard recommend though and your last chance to see this stuff in the UK before it finds a permanent home in Egypt. Link to their website here.
I'd also heartily recommend the nearby Lebanese restaurant where we had a fantastic lunch.
Ideally I’d like a chance to look round the exhibition without the backpackers and the fucking idiots viewing the whole thing via their smart phones. No one except me seemed to take any notice of the no photography policy but no one was policing it either. But I preferred to use the unreliable camera of my eyes. If Ian Saatchi wants to invite me down to have a look when everyone has gone home (to see if the exhibits come to life at night) then I’d accept the invitation, despite the obvious dangers of doing so.
RHLSTP with Robin Ince is now up
On audio
On video
And I highly recommend Robin's excellent book/audiobook
