Tutankhamun [antikvár]

ForewordIn this book, william macquitty presents a series of photographsof unusual and striking character which evoke the mystery of Ancient Egypt, through to the death and burial of Tutankhamun. It is not easy to get close to the Egypt of the fourteenth century b.c., to understand the ways of thought which produced the remarkable culture of that time, to comprehend truly the emotions and aspirations which pervade the strange burial customs practised by the Ancient Egyptians. We can read the ancient texts inscribed in the tombs of the great kings, but we can scarcely fathom what they mean. As the mature statements of a royal religion, they were put up in a tomb for the personal use of the dead king, to assist him in the long and hazardous, but inevitably successful, journey to join his father, the sun god Re, in the glorious after-life, ft may be doubted whether any Egyptian himself would have understood what they meant. But they were part of the essential ritual of death and burial.The small tomb prepared for Tutankhamun was only modestly provided with the wall-paintings which in most royal tombs incorporated the texts. This deficiency was largely compensated for by the inclusion of four gilded shrines surrounding the sarcophagus of the king. These shrines were covered, inside and out, with religious inscriptions of baffling content. The photographs in this volume illustrate the strange, arcane creatures which people the scenes that accompany these inscriptions.It is 150 years since the French scholar, Jean-François Champollion published the discoveries which led directly to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs. In the intervening years since 1822 much has been learned about Egypt. Yet whoever gazes on the objects found there will still sense the mystery embodied in peculiar ritual objects and images of strange divine creatures, and wonder at the technical and artistic achievement of the ancient craftsmen.William MacQuitty's evocative photographs and text offer a sensitive presentation of the life and death of Tutankhamun, illuminated by illustrations which convey the drama surrounding the burial of the king and the excitement of the discovery of the tomb fifty years ago.