On the afternoon of the 26th November 1922, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, four excited Egyptologists stood before a dusty, ancient doorway blocked with stone and marked with mysterious hieroglyphs: the seals of the boy Pharaoh, Tutankhamun, and Anubis, the jackal god of the dead. At the head of the party was the British archaeologist Howard Carter, accompanied by Lord Carnarvon (his sponsor and the owner of Highclere Castle), Carnarvon's daughter, Lady Evelyn Herbert, and Carter's assistant, Mr Arthur Callender. Taking a chisel, Howard Carter carefully prised out a hole at the top of the entrance, lit a candle and peered into the chamber. Carter described the discovery in his book The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen (1924): ...as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold everywhere the glint of gold... Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any longer, inquired anxiously, "Can you see anything?" It was all I could do to get out the words, "Yes, wonderful things".
So the legend of Tutankhamun was born. Over the next 10 years, Carter's team removed 5,000 precious artefacts from the four chambers of the Pharaoh's tomb. "Tutmania' became a craze almost instantaneously, with Egyptian motifs appearing on everything from architecture, furniture and porcelain tea sets to women's fashion, jewellery, scent bottles and powder compacts. From Louise Brooks' sleek dark bob to Huntley & Palmers' Tutankhamun biscuit tin, from the King Tut Fox Trot to Palmolive Cleopatra soap: you name it, it all went Tut. If the 1920s was a decade of crazes (ping-pong, mahjong, crosswords, pogo sticks, miniature golf and yo-yos), then the Tutankhamun craze was the craze to outlast them all.
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Denne historien er fra November 2022-utgaven av Homes & Antiques.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Collecting Dioramas MINIATURE WORLDS
From elaborate taxidermy museum displays to humble folk art creations, a diorama can transport us to another time and place
Pride of place LEEDS CREAMWARE
In its heyday the pre-eminent rival to Wedgwood's Queens ware, Leeds creamware is still much revered by collectors for its understated elegance
Bohemian Rhapsody
An exuberant approach to decor, with rooms enveloped in colour and pattern, has brought this historic home merrily into the 21st century...
THE ANTIQUES THAT SHAPED ME Rory Hutton
The accessories designer on his love of silver spoons and Sévres porcelain
European HERITAGE B&Bs
Is there anything more inspiring than staying somewhere that's both beautifully stylish and imbued with history? Rhiannon Batten explores five gems across Europe, from Sweden to Spain...
STAR SALES
A Hitchens painting, a museum-quality teapot and a Parisian chocolate box are all top of the lots
Textile designs by artists
Influential 20th-century fine artists and sculptors, from Picasso to Barbara Hepworth, gained additional status as textile designers until decline set in during the 1970s
Period DRAMA
A painstaking renovation has brought this 1725 former Huguenot silk weaver's house in London's Spitalfields back to life
An artist's RESIDENCE
Rustic details and a restrained palette lend a sense of simplicity to this lovingly restored Friesian bakery
Carefully Curated LIVING
This lovingly restored Gustavian manor has become both home and showroom for its owners, Maria & Jan Åke, who deal in European antiques