TUTANKHAMUN
King Tut’s treasures offer opulent eye candy in this coffee-table volume
Author Zahi Hawass Publisher Thames and Hudson Price £30 Released Out now
The boy king of Ancient Egypt only ruled for nine years, but today Tutankhamun’s death mask is as iconic a symbol of the lost civilisation’s wealth and power as the Great Pyramids of Giza. However, the mask was just one of hundreds of riches uncovered when Howard Carter discovered the pharaoh’s resting place in 1922. The brilliantly illustrated Tutankhamun: Treasures Of The Tomb allows you to cast your eye over many of these gems in sumptuous detail.
From his vast sarcophagus to close-ups of ceremonial daggers, a shrine to the god Anubis to a golden chariot to ride in the afterlife, this coffee-table volume features over 300 photos – with 26 foldouts that ensure the intricacies are not lost in the gap between pages.
The images are all arranged in the order that Carter and his team excavated the tomb, with commentary from Dr Zahi Hawass, the preeminent Egyptologist of our time. Hawass’s descriptions provide much needed context for some of the lesser known objects, such as amulets and pots, shining a light on religious symbolism and secrets of everyday Egyptian life.
The photography is by Sandro Vannani, who has been building up an archive of Egyptian images for years now. The treasures are all shot in full colour and in an incredible high resolution, so you can appreciate the sparkle of jewels as well as the minute flaws of these ancient wonders. The decision to shoot most of the collection on a black background ups the contrast so the golden goodies seem to almost glow.