VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Archaeological Institute of American, Houston and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston present a Lecture: Embodiment of Empire: Tutankhamun and the Pharaohs of Egypt, 6:30p.m., Thursday, October 27, 2011, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Brown Theater, 1001 Bissonnet.  Presented by Dr. Bob Brier, Senior Research Fellow, Long Island University.

Tutankhamun is the most famous pharaoh in Egypt’s three-thousand-year history, but he still remains a mystery. When Howard Carter discovered his nearly intact tomb in 1922, there was nothing that said who his mother was or who his father was—and scholars are still not certain. After five years of clearing the tomb's hundreds and hundreds of objects, Carter concluded that Tutankhamen had eluded him.

Part of the reason for the mystery surrounding Tutankhamun is that there was a systematic attempt to erase all traces of him from history. His name was carved out on his statues and monuments and very little remains to reveal what his reign was like.

One of the most important objects in the tomb was the boy-king’s mummy, perhaps the clue to his life and death. Why did the boy-King Tutankhamun die at such an early age? Was it a political murder? Discover what the latest research reveals about the death of King Tut and how changes in the pharaoh’s role during his dynasty nearly destroyed the Egyptian Empire.

Dr. Bob Brier, also known as “Mr. Mummy,” is a worldrenowned Egyptologist and host of the Learning Channel’s acclaimed series The Great Egyptians. A specialist in paleopathology, the study of diseases in the ancient world, Brier has conducted pioneering research in mummification practices worldwide. In addition to his career at Long Island University, Brier has taught ancient Egyptian at The New School, and Egyptology at Webb Institute for many years.

Pictured:  Canopic Coffinette from Tutankhamun's Tomb (detail), 18th Dynasty, gold, carnelian, and colored glass. © Sandro Vannini.