I loved the exhibit! Hieroglyphs, colossal statues, small sculptures, gold, wood, reed beds! It's amazing what has been preserved thanks to the dry conditions in Egypt. I found it interesting how many statues were appropriated by different rulers. I guess some statues were so amazing that pharaohs/legislators just decided to re-use them!
I remember learning about the Amarna period in one of my classes at UW, but it was cool to see examples of it for myself! During the Amarna period, the pharaoh Akhenaten drastically changed the Egyptian religion. He decided they'd only worship one god- the sun god, Aten. Not only did the religion change, but so did the art. The heads of pharaoh and his family members almost look alien! They're all elongated and the features are much more delicate versus the angular sculptures of the periods before and after. Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten. He reversed the changes his father had made back to the old religion and traditions of Egypt. After Tut died at a young age without an heir (he had two stillborn daughters- the fetuses were found in his tomb! We saw the jars the fetuses were kept in) Egypt was thrown for a loop and scrambled to find a new leader.
My only disappointment was that there was no mummy or even a sarcophagus at the end! Tut was buried in about 5 sarcophagi (like nesting dolls) so I thought at least one would be there! But, alas, it wasn't to be.
If you're in the Seattle area go see the King Tut exhibit before it's gone!
No pictures were allowed, but we took one in the gift shop:
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