November 10, 2025 • 6 mins
This week we're sharing an episode of another art history podcast we love! Who Arted celebrates art in all of its forms and in terms anyone can understand. Each episode tells the story of a different artist and artwork. Who Arted is written and produced by art teacher Kyle Wood with the goal of making art history fun and accessible to everyone.
This episode focuses on King Tut's tomb. On November 26, 1922, Howard Carter prepared to enter the tomb of a little-known pharaoh. Nobody had set foot inside the space for over 3,000 years, but as Carter held up his candle, his partner, Lord Carnarvon who had financed the expedition called out asking if he saw anything. Carter responded, “Yes, wonderful things.” Though his reign may have been short, the treasures found in Tutankhamun’s tomb have given him an outsized place in the history books and popular culture.
Learn more at https://www.whoartedpodcast.com/.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker:
Feel like who? (00:00):
undefined
Speaker: Art editor. (00:00):
undefined
Speaker: Who? (00:02):
undefined
Speaker: Artist. (00:02):
undefined
Speaker: Mr. wood. (00:02):
undefined
Speaker: Art editor. (00:03):
undefined
Speaker: Me? (00:03):
undefined
Speaker: Good either way. (00:04):
undefined
Speaker: It's ambiguous. (00:05):
undefined
Speaker: It works on so many levels. (00:06):
undefined
Speaker: I know that's off to a great start. (00:07):
undefined
Speaker: Welcome to wholehearted weekly art history for all ages. (00:10):
undefined
Speaker: I'm your host, Kyle Wood, and (00:13):
undefined
Speaker: today we're digging into King (00:15):
undefined
Speaker: Tut's tomb. (00:18):
undefined
Speaker: On November twenty sixth, nineteen twenty two, Howard (00:19):
undefined
Speaker: Carter prepared to enter the tomb of a little known pharaoh. (00:22):
undefined
Speaker: Nobody had set foot inside the space for over three thousand (00:26):
undefined
Speaker: years, but as Carter held up his candle, his partner Lord (00:30):
undefined
Speaker: Carnarvon, who had financed the expedition, called out, asking (00:34):
undefined
Speaker: if he saw anything. (00:38):
undefined
Speaker: Carter responded yes, wonderful things. (00:40):
undefined
Speaker: King Tutankhamun, often referred to as King Tut, ascended to the (00:46):
undefined
Speaker: throne at the tender age of nine during the eighteenth dynasty of (00:50):
undefined
Speaker: the New Kingdom in Egypt around thirteen thirty two BCE. (00:55):
undefined
Speaker: Workers hastily completed his tomb as the boy king appeared to (01:00):
undefined
Speaker: have died unexpectedly when he was just a teenager. (01:04):
undefined
Speaker: While there are numerous theories as to how he passed, I (01:09):
undefined
Speaker: am inclined to believe those who say he likely died from malaria (01:12):
undefined
Speaker: or an infection. (01:16):
undefined
Speaker: There were theories that he died in a chariot crash because of (01:18):
undefined
Speaker: the chariots left in his tomb, along with numerous broken bones (01:22):
undefined
Speaker: and the skeleton. (01:26):
undefined
Speaker: However, DNA analysis indicated that Tutankhamun had a severe (01:27):
undefined
Speaker: clubbed foot and other maladies, likely stemming from the (01:33):
undefined
Speaker: verticality of his family tree. (01:36):
undefined
Speaker: Tutankhamun was physically (01:39):
undefined
Speaker: frail, likely in a great deal of (01:40):
undefined
Speaker: pain during his short life, and (01:43):
undefined
Speaker: would not have been capable of (01:45):
undefined
Speaker: riding chariots. (01:46):
undefined
Speaker: The contents of the tomb also indicate Tut's disability. (01:48):
undefined
Speaker: He was buried with one hundred and thirty canes and walking (01:52):
undefined
Speaker: sticks to aid him in getting around in the afterlife. (01:56):
undefined
Speaker: Now, as a ruler, King Tut really was not all that remarkable. (02:00):
undefined
Speaker: Probably his greatest achievement was restoring (02:06):
undefined
Speaker: traditional religious practices. (02:09):
undefined
Speaker: His predecessor Akhenaten, also King Tut's father. (02:12):
undefined
Speaker: I guess Tutankhamun's initial name was Tutankhaten, but he (02:16):
undefined
Speaker: changed it as he took the throne as sort of a signifier that he (02:23):
undefined
Speaker: was getting away from his allegiance to his father, um, (02:28):
undefined
Speaker: who was considered to be sort of a heretical king and, um, sort (02:33):
undefined
Speaker: of symbolically getting back towards the old religions. (02:38):
undefined
Speaker: Akhenaten had undergone some (02:42):
undefined
Speaker: drastic religious reforms, (02:44):
undefined
Speaker: pushing everyone to worship (02:46):
undefined
Speaker: Aten, the sun disk, as the (02:47):
undefined
Speaker: primary god. (02:49):
undefined
Speaker: Tutankhamun restored the (02:51):
undefined
Speaker: polytheistic tradition, bringing (02:53):
undefined
Speaker: back the priests and the temples (02:55):
undefined
Speaker: that had been out of favour (02:57):
undefined
Speaker: during that previous (02:58):
undefined
Speaker: administration. (02:59):
undefined
Speaker: He also moved the capital back to Thebes. (03:01):
undefined
Speaker: He supported the arts and pushed to improve the economy, (03:04):
undefined
Speaker: revitalising trade networks that had suffered under Akhenaten. (03:07):
undefined
Speaker: The thing is, while all of this sounds like he was restoring (03:13):
undefined
Speaker: Egypt to normalcy after the radical reign of Akhenaten, he (03:17):
undefined
Speaker: was still Akhenaten son. (03:22):
undefined
Speaker: So people associated the two of them together. (03:23):
undefined
Speaker: He was likely just going along with his advisors plans. (03:28):
undefined
Speaker: Remember, Tutankhamun was only (03:31):
undefined
Speaker: nine years old when he took the (03:33):
undefined
Speaker: throne, so people like Nefertiti (03:35):
undefined
Speaker: were likely just pulling the (03:37):
undefined
Speaker: strings. (03:38):
undefined
Speaker: When Tutankhamun died young, he left no children as heirs. (03:40):
undefined
Speaker: Military strongmen came in to grab power, and the Pharaoh AoNB (03:44):
undefined
Speaker: worked to erase Tut and Akhenaten from history. (03:48):
undefined
Speaker: Horemheb actually continued (03:53):
undefined
Speaker: Tut's reforms and then took over (03:55):
undefined
Speaker: Tut's monuments, carving his own (03:58):
undefined
Speaker: name over Tut's wherever he (04:00):
undefined
Speaker: could. (04:01):
undefined
Speaker: Ironically, King Tutankhamun became a household name in the (04:02):
undefined
Speaker: twentieth century because he was almost entirely forgotten three (04:06):
undefined
Speaker: thousand years ago, because Tutankhamun wasn't spoken of and (04:10):
undefined
Speaker: essentially erased from history. (04:15):
undefined
Speaker: So shortly after his death. (04:17):
undefined
Speaker: He was quickly forgotten by most (04:19):
undefined
Speaker: Egyptians, including would be (04:21):
undefined
Speaker: looters. (04:23):
undefined
Speaker: As a result, his was the most (04:24):
undefined
Speaker: fully intact tomb to be (04:26):
undefined
Speaker: excavated in the twentieth (04:29):
undefined
Speaker: century. (04:30):
undefined
Speaker: There were about five thousand (04:32):
undefined
Speaker: treasures in the tomb when (04:33):
undefined
Speaker: Howard Carter and his team came (04:35):
undefined
Speaker: in. (04:37):
undefined
Speaker: It actually took them about a decade just to catalogue and (04:38):
undefined
Speaker: carefully remove everything now from the looks of things. (04:41):
undefined
Speaker: While Carter's team was very careful and meticulous, removing (04:45):
undefined
Speaker: everything, the ancient Egyptians had to rush the job as (04:50):
undefined
Speaker: they filled the space. (04:53):
undefined
Speaker: The stone sarcophagus, for (04:55):
undefined
Speaker: example, has some unfinished (04:57):
undefined
Speaker: details. (04:59):
undefined
Speaker: Workers painted on some jewelry (05:00):
undefined
Speaker: pieces that would normally have (05:02):
undefined
Speaker: been carved. (05:04):
undefined
Speaker: The lid was granite, but the base was quartzite. (05:05):
undefined
Speaker: Archaeologists say that something must have happened to (05:08):
undefined
Speaker: the original quartzite lid, and they simply made do with what (05:12):
undefined
Speaker: they had on hand. (05:15):
undefined
Speaker: A granite lid was carved and painted to look like quartzite, (05:17):
undefined
Speaker: but repair work also indicates that the granite cracked during (05:21):
undefined
Speaker: the rushed carving process. (05:26):
undefined
Speaker: Things breaking and being hastily repaired appears to be (05:29):
undefined
Speaker: the theme for King Tut. (05:33):
undefined
Speaker: Probably the most famous (05:34):
undefined
Speaker: treasure from the tomb of King (05:36):
undefined
Speaker: Tutankhamun would be his burial (05:37):
undefined
Speaker: mask. (05:39):
undefined
Speaker: It's twenty two and a half pounds, constructed of gold and (05:40):
undefined
Speaker: precious jewels along stylized beard hung from the chin. (05:44):
undefined
Speaker: But when Carter opened the tomb, the beard had broken off. (05:48):
undefined
Speaker: They inserted a wood dowel rod to reattach the beard. (05:53):
undefined
Speaker: But in twenty fourteen, some museum workers were cleaning the (05:57):
undefined
Speaker: glass case when they accidentally broke the beard (06:01):
undefined
Speaker: off, apparently in a move that seems way too relatable. (06:04):
undefined
Speaker: They just hastily tried to cover (06:10):
undefined
Speaker: their mistake by quickly gluing (06:11):
undefined
Speaker: it back on and hoping nobody (06:14):
undefined
Speaker: would notice. (06:15):
undefined
Speaker: Unfortunately, the beard was (06:17):
undefined
Speaker: slightly off center and people (06:19):
undefined
Speaker: noticed some epoxy residue (06:21):
undefined
Speaker: around where the pieces were (06:23):
undefined
Speaker: connected. (06:25):
undefined
Speaker: In twenty fifteen, a team of (06:26):
undefined
Speaker: preservationists cleaned up the (06:28):
undefined
Speaker: mess and reattached the beard (06:30):
undefined
Speaker: using beeswax, which was kind of (06:32):
undefined
Speaker: surprising to me, but I guess it (06:34):
undefined
Speaker: was in line with ancient (06:36):
undefined
Speaker: Egyptian methods. (06:37):
undefined
Speaker: And why all the significance (06:39):
undefined
Speaker: with the beard, you might be (06:41):
undefined
Speaker: wondering? (06:42):
undefined
Speaker: Great question. (06:43):
undefined
Speaker: Glad I asked myself. (06:44):
undefined
Speaker: The beard, like everything else about the mask, was symbolic. (06:46):
undefined
Speaker: It was intended to connect him to the image of a god. (06:50):
undefined
Speaker: The gold served the same (06:53):
undefined
Speaker: function as Egyptian gods were (06:55):
undefined
Speaker: described as having skin of gold (06:56):
undefined
Speaker: and bones of silver, hair of (06:59):
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Speaker: lapis lazuli. (07:01):
undefined
Speaker: The burial mask was not a (07:03):
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Speaker: naturalistic depiction of the (07:05):
undefined
Speaker: king as he looked in life, but (07:07):
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Speaker: rather an idealized depiction of (07:09):
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Speaker: what he would look like in the (07:12):
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Speaker: afterlife. (07:14):
undefined
Speaker: He wears the nemes headdress, the striped headcloth typically (07:16):
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Speaker: worn by ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and just above his (07:20):
undefined
Speaker: forehead we see the vulture and cobra, symbols of goddesses, (07:23):
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Speaker: watching over him and symbolizing his rule over both (07:27):
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Speaker: Upper and Lower Egypt. (07:31):
undefined
Speaker: While his innermost coffin was made of gold. (07:34):
undefined
Speaker: It did not appear shiny when (07:37):
undefined
Speaker: Carter and his team first (07:38):
undefined
Speaker: encountered it. (07:39):
undefined
Speaker: Carter described the coffin as (07:41):
undefined
Speaker: being pitch black from the hands (07:42):
undefined
Speaker: to the toes, as it had been (07:44):
undefined
Speaker: covered in some liquid for a (07:46):
undefined
Speaker: ritual anointing. (07:48):
undefined
Speaker: In his hands were the crook and flail symbols. (07:50):
undefined
Speaker: The king's right to rule the goddesses Nekhbet, the vulture, (07:54):
undefined
Speaker: and Wadjet the cobra, are spreading across his torso, (07:58):
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Speaker: inlaid in semi-precious stones. (08:03):
undefined
Speaker: Beneath them we can see two more goddesses, Isis and Nephthys, (08:06):
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Speaker: etched in gold. (08:10):
undefined
Speaker: All of these treasures. (08:13):
undefined
Speaker: Because the Egyptian pharaohs (08:14):
undefined
Speaker: spent most of their lives (08:15):
undefined
Speaker: planning for the afterlife from (08:17):
undefined
Speaker: the moment they ascended to the (08:19):
undefined
Speaker: throne, rulers would have crews (08:21):
undefined
Speaker: building tombs guarded by walls, (08:23):
undefined
Speaker: secret entrances, traps and (08:25):
undefined
Speaker: spells. (08:27):
undefined
Speaker: In yet another great bit of irony, the tomb that appears to (08:28):
undefined
Speaker: have been the most hastily constructed also appears to have (08:32):
undefined
Speaker: been the best preserved. (08:36):
undefined
Speaker: Tutankhamun was allowed to rest (08:39):
undefined
Speaker: in peace for well over three (08:41):
undefined
Speaker: thousand years, until Howard (08:43):
undefined
Speaker: Carter came around to dig up the (08:45):
undefined
Speaker: King's remains. (08:47):
undefined
Speaker: And though his reign may have (08:48):
undefined
Speaker: been short, the treasures found (08:49):
undefined
Speaker: in Tutankhamun's tomb have given (08:51):
undefined
Speaker: him an outsized place in the (08:54):
undefined
Speaker: history books and popular (08:56):
undefined
Speaker: culture. (08:57):
undefined
Speaker: If you want to learn a little bit more about ancient Egyptian (08:59):
undefined
Speaker: art, check out the episodes linked in the show notes. (09:02):
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Speaker: And as always, if you enjoy this (09:04):
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Speaker: show, please tell a friend about (09:06):
undefined
Speaker: it or do me a favor and leave a (09:09):
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Speaker: kind rating or review on Apple (09:11):
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Speaker: Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever (09:12):
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Speaker: you're listening. (09:14):
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Speaker: This concludes this week's (09:16):
undefined
Speaker: episode of Who Arted, part of (09:17):
undefined
Speaker: the Airwave Media Podcast (09:19):
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Speaker: Network. (09:20):
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Speaker: If you found this tolerable, please leave a rating or review (09:21):
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Speaker: on your favorite podcast app. (09:24):
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Speaker: You can find images of the work (09:26):
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Speaker: being discussed this week and (09:28):
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Speaker: every week on social media at (09:29):
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Speaker: Wholehearted Podcast, on (09:31):
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Speaker: Twitter, Instagram and TikTok (09:33):
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Speaker: and of course, on the website (09:35):
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Speaker: who Arted Podcast.com podcast (09:36):
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Speaker: done. (09:40):
undefined
undefined
Speaker: Art editor. (00:00):
undefined
Speaker: Who? (00:02):
undefined
Speaker: Artist. (00:02):
undefined
Speaker: Mr. wood. (00:02):
undefined
Speaker: Art editor. (00:03):
undefined
Speaker: Me? (00:03):
undefined
Speaker: Good either way. (00:04):
undefined
Speaker: It's ambiguous. (00:05):
undefined
Speaker: It works on so many levels. (00:06):
undefined
Speaker: I know that's off to a great start. (00:07):
undefined
Speaker: Welcome to wholehearted weekly art history for all ages. (00:10):
undefined
Speaker: I'm your host, Kyle Wood, and (00:13):
undefined
Speaker: today we're digging into King (00:15):
undefined
Speaker: Tut's tomb. (00:18):
undefined
Speaker: On November twenty sixth, nineteen twenty two, Howard (00:19):
undefined
Speaker: Carter prepared to enter the tomb of a little known pharaoh. (00:22):
undefined
Speaker: Nobody had set foot inside the space for over three thousand (00:26):
undefined
Speaker: years, but as Carter held up his candle, his partner Lord (00:30):
undefined
Speaker: Carnarvon, who had financed the expedition, called out, asking (00:34):
undefined
Speaker: if he saw anything. (00:38):
undefined
Speaker: Carter responded yes, wonderful things. (00:40):
undefined
Speaker: King Tutankhamun, often referred to as King Tut, ascended to the (00:46):
undefined
Speaker: throne at the tender age of nine during the eighteenth dynasty of (00:50):
undefined
Speaker: the New Kingdom in Egypt around thirteen thirty two BCE. (00:55):
undefined
Speaker: Workers hastily completed his tomb as the boy king appeared to (01:00):
undefined
Speaker: have died unexpectedly when he was just a teenager. (01:04):
undefined
Speaker: While there are numerous theories as to how he passed, I (01:09):
undefined
Speaker: am inclined to believe those who say he likely died from malaria (01:12):
undefined
Speaker: or an infection. (01:16):
undefined
Speaker: There were theories that he died in a chariot crash because of (01:18):
undefined
Speaker: the chariots left in his tomb, along with numerous broken bones (01:22):
undefined
Speaker: and the skeleton. (01:26):
undefined
Speaker: However, DNA analysis indicated that Tutankhamun had a severe (01:27):
undefined
Speaker: clubbed foot and other maladies, likely stemming from the (01:33):
undefined
Speaker: verticality of his family tree. (01:36):
undefined
Speaker: Tutankhamun was physically (01:39):
undefined
Speaker: frail, likely in a great deal of (01:40):
undefined
Speaker: pain during his short life, and (01:43):
undefined
Speaker: would not have been capable of (01:45):
undefined
Speaker: riding chariots. (01:46):
undefined
Speaker: The contents of the tomb also indicate Tut's disability. (01:48):
undefined
Speaker: He was buried with one hundred and thirty canes and walking (01:52):
undefined
Speaker: sticks to aid him in getting around in the afterlife. (01:56):
undefined
Speaker: Now, as a ruler, King Tut really was not all that remarkable. (02:00):
undefined
Speaker: Probably his greatest achievement was restoring (02:06):
undefined
Speaker: traditional religious practices. (02:09):
undefined
Speaker: His predecessor Akhenaten, also King Tut's father. (02:12):
undefined
Speaker: I guess Tutankhamun's initial name was Tutankhaten, but he (02:16):
undefined
Speaker: changed it as he took the throne as sort of a signifier that he (02:23):
undefined
Speaker: was getting away from his allegiance to his father, um, (02:28):
undefined
Speaker: who was considered to be sort of a heretical king and, um, sort (02:33):
undefined
Speaker: of symbolically getting back towards the old religions. (02:38):
undefined
Speaker: Akhenaten had undergone some (02:42):
undefined
Speaker: drastic religious reforms, (02:44):
undefined
Speaker: pushing everyone to worship (02:46):
undefined
Speaker: Aten, the sun disk, as the (02:47):
undefined
Speaker: primary god. (02:49):
undefined
Speaker: Tutankhamun restored the (02:51):
undefined
Speaker: polytheistic tradition, bringing (02:53):
undefined
Speaker: back the priests and the temples (02:55):
undefined
Speaker: that had been out of favour (02:57):
undefined
Speaker: during that previous (02:58):
undefined
Speaker: administration. (02:59):
undefined
Speaker: He also moved the capital back to Thebes. (03:01):
undefined
Speaker: He supported the arts and pushed to improve the economy, (03:04):
undefined
Speaker: revitalising trade networks that had suffered under Akhenaten. (03:07):
undefined
Speaker: The thing is, while all of this sounds like he was restoring (03:13):
undefined
Speaker: Egypt to normalcy after the radical reign of Akhenaten, he (03:17):
undefined
Speaker: was still Akhenaten son. (03:22):
undefined
Speaker: So people associated the two of them together. (03:23):
undefined
Speaker: He was likely just going along with his advisors plans. (03:28):
undefined
Speaker: Remember, Tutankhamun was only (03:31):
undefined
Speaker: nine years old when he took the (03:33):
undefined
Speaker: throne, so people like Nefertiti (03:35):
undefined
Speaker: were likely just pulling the (03:37):
undefined
Speaker: strings. (03:38):
undefined
Speaker: When Tutankhamun died young, he left no children as heirs. (03:40):
undefined
Speaker: Military strongmen came in to grab power, and the Pharaoh AoNB (03:44):
undefined
Speaker: worked to erase Tut and Akhenaten from history. (03:48):
undefined
Speaker: Horemheb actually continued (03:53):
undefined
Speaker: Tut's reforms and then took over (03:55):
undefined
Speaker: Tut's monuments, carving his own (03:58):
undefined
Speaker: name over Tut's wherever he (04:00):
undefined
Speaker: could. (04:01):
undefined
Speaker: Ironically, King Tutankhamun became a household name in the (04:02):
undefined
Speaker: twentieth century because he was almost entirely forgotten three (04:06):
undefined
Speaker: thousand years ago, because Tutankhamun wasn't spoken of and (04:10):
undefined
Speaker: essentially erased from history. (04:15):
undefined
Speaker: So shortly after his death. (04:17):
undefined
Speaker: He was quickly forgotten by most (04:19):
undefined
Speaker: Egyptians, including would be (04:21):
undefined
Speaker: looters. (04:23):
undefined
Speaker: As a result, his was the most (04:24):
undefined
Speaker: fully intact tomb to be (04:26):
undefined
Speaker: excavated in the twentieth (04:29):
undefined
Speaker: century. (04:30):
undefined
Speaker: There were about five thousand (04:32):
undefined
Speaker: treasures in the tomb when (04:33):
undefined
Speaker: Howard Carter and his team came (04:35):
undefined
Speaker: in. (04:37):
undefined
Speaker: It actually took them about a decade just to catalogue and (04:38):
undefined
Speaker: carefully remove everything now from the looks of things. (04:41):
undefined
Speaker: While Carter's team was very careful and meticulous, removing (04:45):
undefined
Speaker: everything, the ancient Egyptians had to rush the job as (04:50):
undefined
Speaker: they filled the space. (04:53):
undefined
Speaker: The stone sarcophagus, for (04:55):
undefined
Speaker: example, has some unfinished (04:57):
undefined
Speaker: details. (04:59):
undefined
Speaker: Workers painted on some jewelry (05:00):
undefined
Speaker: pieces that would normally have (05:02):
undefined
Speaker: been carved. (05:04):
undefined
Speaker: The lid was granite, but the base was quartzite. (05:05):
undefined
Speaker: Archaeologists say that something must have happened to (05:08):
undefined
Speaker: the original quartzite lid, and they simply made do with what (05:12):
undefined
Speaker: they had on hand. (05:15):
undefined
Speaker: A granite lid was carved and painted to look like quartzite, (05:17):
undefined
Speaker: but repair work also indicates that the granite cracked during (05:21):
undefined
Speaker: the rushed carving process. (05:26):
undefined
Speaker: Things breaking and being hastily repaired appears to be (05:29):
undefined
Speaker: the theme for King Tut. (05:33):
undefined
Speaker: Probably the most famous (05:34):
undefined
Speaker: treasure from the tomb of King (05:36):
undefined
Speaker: Tutankhamun would be his burial (05:37):
undefined
Speaker: mask. (05:39):
undefined
Speaker: It's twenty two and a half pounds, constructed of gold and (05:40):
undefined
Speaker: precious jewels along stylized beard hung from the chin. (05:44):
undefined
Speaker: But when Carter opened the tomb, the beard had broken off. (05:48):
undefined
Speaker: They inserted a wood dowel rod to reattach the beard. (05:53):
undefined
Speaker: But in twenty fourteen, some museum workers were cleaning the (05:57):
undefined
Speaker: glass case when they accidentally broke the beard (06:01):
undefined
Speaker: off, apparently in a move that seems way too relatable. (06:04):
undefined
Speaker: They just hastily tried to cover (06:10):
undefined
Speaker: their mistake by quickly gluing (06:11):
undefined
Speaker: it back on and hoping nobody (06:14):
undefined
Speaker: would notice. (06:15):
undefined
Speaker: Unfortunately, the beard was (06:17):
undefined
Speaker: slightly off center and people (06:19):
undefined
Speaker: noticed some epoxy residue (06:21):
undefined
Speaker: around where the pieces were (06:23):
undefined
Speaker: connected. (06:25):
undefined
Speaker: In twenty fifteen, a team of (06:26):
undefined
Speaker: preservationists cleaned up the (06:28):
undefined
Speaker: mess and reattached the beard (06:30):
undefined
Speaker: using beeswax, which was kind of (06:32):
undefined
Speaker: surprising to me, but I guess it (06:34):
undefined
Speaker: was in line with ancient (06:36):
undefined
Speaker: Egyptian methods. (06:37):
undefined
Speaker: And why all the significance (06:39):
undefined
Speaker: with the beard, you might be (06:41):
undefined
Speaker: wondering? (06:42):
undefined
Speaker: Great question. (06:43):
undefined
Speaker: Glad I asked myself. (06:44):
undefined
Speaker: The beard, like everything else about the mask, was symbolic. (06:46):
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Speaker: It was intended to connect him to the image of a god. (06:50):
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Speaker: The gold served the same (06:53):
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Speaker: function as Egyptian gods were (06:55):
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Speaker: described as having skin of gold (06:56):
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Speaker: and bones of silver, hair of (06:59):
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Speaker: lapis lazuli. (07:01):
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Speaker: The burial mask was not a (07:03):
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Speaker: naturalistic depiction of the (07:05):
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Speaker: king as he looked in life, but (07:07):
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Speaker: rather an idealized depiction of (07:09):
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Speaker: what he would look like in the (07:12):
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Speaker: afterlife. (07:14):
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Speaker: He wears the nemes headdress, the striped headcloth typically (07:16):
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Speaker: worn by ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and just above his (07:20):
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Speaker: forehead we see the vulture and cobra, symbols of goddesses, (07:23):
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Speaker: watching over him and symbolizing his rule over both (07:27):
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Speaker: Upper and Lower Egypt. (07:31):
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Speaker: While his innermost coffin was made of gold. (07:34):
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Speaker: It did not appear shiny when (07:37):
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Speaker: Carter and his team first (07:38):
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Speaker: encountered it. (07:39):
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Speaker: Carter described the coffin as (07:41):
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Speaker: being pitch black from the hands (07:42):
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Speaker: to the toes, as it had been (07:44):
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Speaker: covered in some liquid for a (07:46):
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Speaker: ritual anointing. (07:48):
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Speaker: In his hands were the crook and flail symbols. (07:50):
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Speaker: The king's right to rule the goddesses Nekhbet, the vulture, (07:54):
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Speaker: and Wadjet the cobra, are spreading across his torso, (07:58):
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Speaker: inlaid in semi-precious stones. (08:03):
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Speaker: Beneath them we can see two more goddesses, Isis and Nephthys, (08:06):
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Speaker: etched in gold. (08:10):
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Speaker: All of these treasures. (08:13):
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Speaker: Because the Egyptian pharaohs (08:14):
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Speaker: spent most of their lives (08:15):
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Speaker: planning for the afterlife from (08:17):
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Speaker: the moment they ascended to the (08:19):
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Speaker: throne, rulers would have crews (08:21):
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Speaker: building tombs guarded by walls, (08:23):
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Speaker: secret entrances, traps and (08:25):
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Speaker: spells. (08:27):
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Speaker: In yet another great bit of irony, the tomb that appears to (08:28):
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Speaker: have been the most hastily constructed also appears to have (08:32):
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Speaker: been the best preserved. (08:36):
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Speaker: Tutankhamun was allowed to rest (08:39):
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Speaker: in peace for well over three (08:41):
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Speaker: thousand years, until Howard (08:43):
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Speaker: Carter came around to dig up the (08:45):
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Speaker: King's remains. (08:47):
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Speaker: And though his reign may have (08:48):
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Speaker: been short, the treasures found (08:49):
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Speaker: in Tutankhamun's tomb have given (08:51):
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Speaker: him an outsized place in the (08:54):
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Speaker: history books and popular (08:56):
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Speaker: culture. (08:57):
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Speaker: If you want to learn a little bit more about ancient Egyptian (08:59):
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Speaker: art, check out the episodes linked in the show notes. (09:02):
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Speaker: And as always, if you enjoy this (09:04):
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Speaker: show, please tell a friend about (09:06):
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Speaker: it or do me a favor and leave a (09:09):
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Speaker: kind rating or review on Apple (09:11):
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Speaker: Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever (09:12):
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Speaker: you're listening. (09:14):
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Speaker: This concludes this week's (09:16):
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Speaker: episode of Who Arted, part of (09:17):
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Speaker: the Airwave Media Podcast (09:19):
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Speaker: Network. (09:20):
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Speaker: If you found this tolerable, please leave a rating or review (09:21):
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Speaker: on your favorite podcast app. (09:24):
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Speaker: You can find images of the work (09:26):
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Speaker: being discussed this week and (09:28):
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Speaker: every week on social media at (09:29):
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Speaker: Wholehearted Podcast, on (09:31):
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Speaker: Twitter, Instagram and TikTok (09:33):
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Speaker: and of course, on the website (09:35):
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Speaker: who Arted Podcast.com podcast (09:36):
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Speaker: done. (09:40):
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