Tut exhibit proved pot of gold for museum

A2006 exhibit at Fort Lauderdale’s Museum of Art, “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs,” broke attendance and profit records. The exhibit featured artifacts from the graves of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty and lasted four months. It attracted 650,000 visitors, paying a $30 admission. During the exhibit’s final week, the museum remained open around the clock. Even after a $5 million cut to Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, the museum gained a golden profit, though officials would not disclose how much. Tourism officials estimated the exhibit accounted for a $150 million economic boost to Broward County. The museum store sold 18,650 Tut and Nefertiti pens, 15,013 cookies and treats, six life-size replica thrones fashioned from wood and gold leaf, and one $5,000 throne with mother-of-pearl inlays.