Immersive Tutankhamun exhibition reveals the grandeur of his treasures

Beyond King Tut, curated by the National Geographic Society, surrounds visitors with large-scale projections and animations of some of the thousands of artefacts unearthed from the boy king’s tomb

By Alexis Wnuk

A HUNDRED years ago, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his workers were exploring tombs in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt. They discovered a plastered-up doorway. This was to prove one of the most spectacular archaeological finds of all time: the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Beyond King Tut: The immersive experience, an exhibition curated by the National Geographic Society, features large-scale projections and animations of some of the 5398 artefacts unearthed.

The main image, top, shows Tutankhamun’s iconic gold funerary mask, looming large on the two-storey gallery walls. Below it are two pieces of the jewellery found in the tomb: a pendant (pictured above) that depicts Horus, the god of the sky who took the form of a falcon; and a collar made of gold and coloured glass (pictured below), with a falcon on each end.

A large boat in the centre of the room (pictured below) evokes the ancient Egyptian belief that the dead journeyed by boat to the afterlife.

Beyond King Tut is on display at Pier 36 in New York City until 1 January 2023 and touring cities in the US and Canada. The physical objects from Tutankhamun’s tomb are housed in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Beyond King Tut

National Geographic Society