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Objects in the Tutankhamun Exhibition

07 November, 2010

Tjuya's coffin
Source: www.kingtutmelbourne.com.au

Question: How exciting that Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs is coming to Melbourne! Is his gold mask and sarcophagus going to be part of the exhibition?

Answer: Arguably one of the most famous and spectacular objects from Tutankhamun’s tomb is the pharaoh’s gold funerary mask, which is decorated with lapis lazuli and other semi-precious stones. The mask was placed directly over the face of Tutankhamun’s mummy before it was interred in his gold inner coffin.

Tutankhamun’s death mask and the inner coffin are on display in the Cairo museum along with many other relics from the tomb. His mummy still resides in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor. They are not allowed to leave Egypt and, therefore, are not included in the exhibition.

But visitors will be able to see the intricate, gold canopic coffinette that held Tutankhamun’s mummified liver. This coffinette, a replica of Tutankhamun’s inner coffin, was one of the four canopic jars that held his linen-wrapped liver, lungs, stomach and intestines. The gold crown with semi-precious stones, which encircled the head of his mummy and the 7-foot long gilded sarcophagus of his great-grandmother Tjuya will also be on display.

There will also be an additional display area where the latest research and forensic analysis on Tutankhamun’s death is also presented, including an exact 3D replica of Tut’s mummified body.

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Comments (40)

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where is he now?

are photos allowed in the tutankhamun exhibition?

Hello Michael - no, photography is not permitted in the exhibition, however a selection of images from the exhibition will be available for purchase at the exhibition shop

Ok, read the notes above, is the death mask in the exhibition or not?

I am so excited to see this exhibition - I have waited a very long time to see any of his wonderful things!!!

How long does the 3D movie go for so we can organise tickets?

Hi Heidi, for this information please go to the official website, for which you'll find a link in the last line of the article.

Is members of Power House Museum in Sydney, have discount on tickets. Thanks

Hi Sara,

Powerhouse Museum members get free entry to the museums, when they present their membership card and ID upon arrival. Unfortunately, they don’t get discounts to King Tut.

Do u have any package deals,as in flights and accomadation,and tickets in to the museum.. thanks

I am coming down in June to see the exhibit, will I need to pre-purchase tickets?

Hi Rick, please see the link at right to the official website, on which you can buy tickets and packages.

Hi David, we highly recommend that visitors prebook tickets. Although tickets will be available at the door if not previously sold out, they will definitely sell fast, so you should book to avoid disappointment.

Why does the price of entry into the Tutankhamun Exhibition go up during the school holidays?

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Hi, I'm so excited to be able to go to Melbourne, (we're from Sydney), and actually see this amazing excibition. Got the tickets as a birthday present from my daughter, she's flying down with me Thanks Melbourne Musseum for bringing the excibition to Australia and thank you also to my daughter for this amazing present.Can't wait!!!!!!

The tickets are sold in half hour lots, does this mean that the public are limited in their time to look around?

will there be alot of jewels and gold to see how long does the exhibition take?

Hi Heather - there are a great deal of gold objects and quite a few jewelled items as well - visitors can expect to spend around 90 minutes in the exhibition, but some may wish to spend longer!

Gee, I wish you could've just answered Heidi's question, as it is mine as well. Now I must continue to search the multiple King Tut websites to see if I can find out how long the 3d movie is. I am bringing my family down from Albury, so I need to have information to plan properly.

Hello Gayle -
Regarding exhibition ticket pricing, there are varying "peak" and "off peak” prices; a model that is an innovation for Melbourne but is already becoming common internationally for blockbuster exhibitions. The varying prices allow for lower prices during slower periods and slightly higher prices when demand is greatest. We hope to see you at the exhibition!

Hi Valerie - the 3D film that is shown in the Museum Theatrette runs for around 20 minutes. Hope that helps!

Watching it today, it's sad that the mask isn't on display but then again it is a huge historical antiquity. This is going to be awesome! :)

I saw the exhibition yesterday and it was wonderful. I took around 2 hours to view everything and read all the information (it was quite busy and I had to wait to see some artefacts). The $25 souvenir book didn't include pictures of the jewellery, which was rather disappointing because it was extremely intricate and beautiful, and only a partial picture of the visceral coffinette, which was a highlight of the tour. I also saw the 3D movie, which focused on Ramsis, not Tutankhamun, but was a lovely foray into Ancient Egypt. I recommend printing out or picking up tickets from the venue as mine (bought from Ticketek) didn't arrive in the mail as they were having some issues and didn't inform their customers. It was well worth the entry fee, but perhaps too long for younger children.

Thanks Anna for that insight on your experience, more people that have already seen the exhibition should give their experience to give an insight for others even though each person is different and will have different experiences always good to read others comments. I am going, but not going to expect as much as I think has been promoted on this. Also question for the discovery centre....when would be the quietest time though the day to visit so we are not crowded and having to wait long periods of time to view or read everything?

Interesting exibition. My parents were intrigued. I have seen the full exhibition at the Cairo Museum and have been in Tuts tomb in the Valley of the Kings, so for me a little disappointed but understand the death mask and body cannot leave Egypt. The last room should have been a replica of the tomb for those people who will never get the chance to see the real tomb. The Luzor casino in Las Vegas had a fantastic replica tomb when I stayed there 10 years ago. Shame this display wasnt the same, the last room was quite disappointing.

I travelled from Sydney to see the wonderful exhibition & wish I had purchased a souvenir-catalog book .Is there anyway I can do that?-Helen

I am from overseas, america, and when I went there they told me it was sold out, no sign, just after half an hour queueing. Dissapointing. First time in my life not able to enter an exhibition at a museum

Im thinking about flying my family over from new zealand to see this. how long is King Tut in Melbourne?

I visited the Tutankhamum Exhibition yesterday, i'm very enjoy it. I'm a journalism student, and I prepare to write a news story assignment, if there is any staff like to be interviewed, please reply me ASAP !THX.

The exhibition is AMAZING!!! I went with my family fist and enjoyed it but I went a second time with school and got a lot more out of it... Don't know why though!

do you have a list of the books available to read in the discovery centre related to the King Tut Exhibit / egyptology. I read some of them on a recent visit to the museum and would like to borrow or buy them. thanks

Oh how I wish I had read this post before I flew down from Brisbane. NO King Tutankhamen's death mask is not on display. How on earth they can get away with ALL the advertising carrying it's image and not having it there. I *know* it lives in Cairo, so when I saw all the buzz around this exhibition and all ALL the press and advertising carrying images of the mask, I put two and two together.... The exhibit with the most visual impact (especially for young ones) is Tjuya's coffin, which is shown early on. The second is the replica of King Tutankhamun's body, which I found fascinating and FREE to view. And here is the kicker... Will you come clean and tell us: What was missing from the last room of the exhibition? There is a plinth, right in the middle of the room, with lighting set up (turned off). Otherwise the room has two other small exhibits. No curator would leave the room like that if unless they couldn't help it. What was missing? Off the the aquarium tomorrow. I hope they have fish!

We are very excited about going to the exhibition. We can't wait.

I saw the exhibit just a few days ago. I am totally amazed with how much they had in their tombs, how much gold their was, and what they believed in. As a teenager, I feel prviledged to have this with me for the rest of my life. The only downer would be the fact that King Tut has never left Egypt, I was sort of expecting him!! :) oops! Also, just a question; is it not immoral to have disturbed King Tut and his belongings? I mean, he believed in the afterllife, as most Ancient Egyptians did, and the objects from his tomb where to go with him into this life, by removing them from his tomb, have we not disturbed or disrupted the afterlife? Sorry, but this was playing on myh mind :) Thanks for bringing this excellent exhibition to Melbourne, opportunity of a life time.

Just wondering how long the exhibit is in melbourne for?

hi there are you allowed photo's inside the tutankhamun expo if no and i bring my camera to veiw and take photo's of the rest of the museum with my kids am i able to take my camera into the exibit but not use it in the king tut expo as i will not have anywhere to store it sorry to ask things like this but will be in there for the day and will be bringing my camera with me looking forward to your reply thankyou so much for reading this email. Kind regards Peter

Hi Justin,

The exhibition is on at the Melbourne Museum until 6 Nov, 2011.

Took my family to the Exhibtion on Sunday thought the artifacts were great but did not read the fine print the death mask was not on display. The rooms were too small for the number of people moving through so it was very stuffy. When we came to the sounvenir place it was disarray with only a few staff on. Then of course we go to the car park $8 per hour on a Sunday. $94 for a family of 4 and $20 car parking. Exhibtion not really great value from my perspective. The advertising photo of the canopic minature is misleading as the average person would believe we would see the death mask not happy - the rest of the museum is great value

hi, my partner and i visited this amazing exhibtion in march. wow!!!! absaloutly well worth while. ive always loved every thing egyptian. the one quick question i would like answered is........ as u leave the exhibition there is three(3) words on the wall, please, please refresh my memory as to what they are. thank you.

I was wondering whether or not digital camera's with no flash are permitted. My mum REALLY wants to see some photo's of when I go but im not sure if you could.