he international spotlight will once again shine on the Museum of Art/Fort Lauderdale, from Dec. 15, 2005, to April 16, 2006, as King Tut and more than 130 artifacts associated with the “boy king” come to South Florida for the first time.

“No name in antiquity is shrouded in more mystery and, at the same time, is better known than King Tut,” says the Museum of Art’s Executive Director Irvin Lippman, who worked at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., where the famous Tut exhibition that toured the country from 1976 to 1979 debuted. “That exhibition set a new model for a must-see event at an art museum. Our fascination with King Tut continues, and now the Museum of Art/Fort Lauderdale will be one of the hosts of Tutankhamun’s resplendent return to the United States.”

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art premiered the U.S. tour, selling more than 300,000 tickets before the exhibition even opened. In anticipation of its arrival in Florida, the museum is making $1.9 million worth of renovations. “We want to look our best,” Lippman says. “We expect to attract visitors from all over the South and Southeast.” A new roof, air-conditioning system and a new paint job are among the numerous renovations currently under way.

During King Tut’s four-month stay, more than 400,000 people are expected to come to the museum — an attendance record for the institution. The show will then continue on to the Field Museum in Chicago and to Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute.

With an inventive design and innovative technology, the exhibit, titled “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs,” will draw visitors back in time to experience the world of King Tut. A series of rooms — each with a different theme — will be designed to piece together an intricate story that begins with “Egypt Before Tutankhamun” and culminates in “The Faces of Tutankhamun,” a collection of posthumous sculptures, masks, and the latest digital images of the “boy king.”

All told, 55 artifacts from Tut’s tomb and more than 70 objects from the tombs of Tut’s father, grandparents and other 18th dynasty royals and non-royals will be on view.

Until King Tut’s tomb was uncovered in 1922, he was a relatively obscure pharaoh, left off most of the lists of rulers compiled by the ancient Egyptians. When his tomb was discovered, though, Tutankhamun’s anonymity was immediately abandoned. He took the throne at the end of the 18th dynasty at the age of 9 but still made great reforms to his country in spite of his youth. Most of his reign was spent restoring Egypt’s traditional religion and moving the administrative and religious centers back to their original locations — two changes resulting from the rule of King Tut’s father.

Tutankhamun died prematurely and unexpectedly before he reached his 20th birthday, leaving insufficient time for a proper royal burial. Instead he was interred in a small, hastily constructed tomb, that did, however, include many treasures that he had used in life as well as those that he would need in the afterlife.

Pieces from these treasures, now nearly 4,000 years old, comprise the exhibit. Highlights from the show include Tut’s royal diadem — the gold crown which encircled his mummified head, and one of the ornate coffinettes inlaid with glass and stones containing his mummified internal organs.

The arrival of King Tut in Fort Lauderdale is still months away, yet the Museum of Art has already increased its membership by 3,000 in less than one month since news of the coming exhibition broke.

Lippman is optimistic that the legacy of King Tut will remain even after his artifacts have departed, raising the whole profile of the museum and piquing the interest of art enthusiasts to keep coming back for more.
For more information or to purchase tickets for the exhibit, call the Museum of Art at 954/525-5500 or visit its website at www.moafl.org.