Treasures Of Tutankhamun: [Catalogue Of An Exhibition] Held At The British Museum, 1972;

by I.E.S. Edwards, Lord Trevelyan (foreword)

From the back cover: Betokening a reign so splendid that its wealth defies estimation, Tutankhamun's treasures epitomize the immemorial grandeur of Egypt. The discovery of the fabulous contents of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 was a high point in archaeology & the most important find ever made in the Valley of the Kings. To celebrate the discovery's 50th anniversary, the largest Tutankhamun exhibition ever to leave Egypt was held at the British Museum in 1972. Inspired by that exhibition, this volume recreates, in full color & in black & white, the tomb's sumptuous legacy.

Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Egyptology

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards CBE, FBA— known as I. E. S. Edwards— was an English Egyptologist considered to be a leading expert on the pyramids.

Edwards attended Merchant Taylors' School where he studied Hebrew and later at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Cambridge University, gaining a 'First' in Oriental Languages. He was awarded the William Wright studentship in Arabic and received his doctorate in 1933.

In 1934 he joined the British Museum as Assistant Keeper in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities. He published Hieroglyphic Texts for Egyptian Stellae. in 1939. During World War II he was sent to Egypt on military duty. In 1946 he wrote The Pyramids of Egypt, which was published by Pelican Books in 1947. In 1955 he was appointed the Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum and organized the Tutankhamun exhibition in 1972. He remained there until his retirement in 1974.

On leaving the British Museum he worked with UNESCO during the rescue of the temple complex at Philae. He was also Vice-President of the Egypt Exploration Society, a Fellow of the British Academy (1962) and was awarded the CBE in 1968 for his services to the British Museum.

Reviews

[Simon Collis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a catalogue of an exhibition held in the British Museum in 1972, so it concentrates on the exhibits you could see, in the order you could see them. It's designed as a guidebook, not a reference.

That said there's a very readable summary of the history of finding the tomb and of Tutankhamen's reign. And reading through the fifty exhibit descriptions is fascinating - it's not just a description of the item and what it's made of but they try and answer the question of what it was for and why it exists, and even why it's in the condition it's in.

My only regret is that this wasn't a more modern exhibition where colour printing was more common, as even the black and white photography is first rate, but the sixteen pages of colour photographs are stunning.

I stumbled across this at a second hand fair and took a chance on it for just a couple of euros. It was a fantastic find and if you're interested in ancient Egypt, I'd recommend picking one up if you can find it.

[Eugene Kernes · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short history of Egypt surrounding the Tutankhamun is given and then various objects found in the Tutankhamun's tomb are presented with their respective explanations. The explanations to the objects, the cultural values surrounding the reason for the particular designs are the best parts of the book. The history given is rushed. The events provided are given a short description with poor transitions to other events.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Edwards provides an historical introduction, this book is primarily a display, in color and black and white, of the contents of the tomb. Its utility is hampered by the lack of consistent pagination and an index.