Hear King Tutankhamun’s trumpets
played for the first time in 3000 years... In 1922, Howard Carter
discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun in Egypt's Valley fo the Kings.
Among the many treasures were two trumpets... One silver and one
copper. In 1939 these two trumpets were played in a world-wide
broadcast by the BBC.
King Tut's trumpets said to herald war, played one week before Egyptian
uprising...
Two of the oldest surviving musical instruments, a pair of trumpets
from the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, have been reunited after
one went missing in the recent political upheaval in Egypt. Shortly
after the instrument had been played for the first time in thousands of
years, World War II broke out, and the trumpet's legendary ability to
spark unrest was born. It's a mysterious endowment that has seemingly
proven itself over and over again, including play sessions before the
first Gulf War, and one week before the recent civil uprising and
rebellion in Egypt.
The objects returned include the gilded wooden statue of Tutankhamun
standing on a skiff throwing a harpoon, part of King Tut's burial
treasure.
The statue suffered damage; a small part of the crown is missing as
well as pieces of the pharaoh's legs. The boat itself never left the
Cairo Museum, and the artefact will now be reassembled and restored, as
was previously done with the Tutankhamun Standing on a Panther statue.
The second returned object is one of the 10 missing shabtis of Yuya and
Tjuya. It is still in very good condition; it does not require
restoration and will be placed on display again immediately, stated Dr.
Tarek El-Awady, Director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The third
object is the famous gilded bronze and wooden trumpet of Tutankhamun.
The instrument and its wooden, painted core were both received in good
condition and will be put on display immediately. The trumpets
themselves are very fragile and have only been played on exceedingly
rare occasions, with Tappern's 1939 performance being close to their
own public display in thousands of years. Also returned was a part of
Tutankhamun’s fan. One face is in good condition, sadly the other side
has been broken into 11 pieces. Part of the royal fan - the stock
itself - is still missing.
Yet, some of Tutankhamun's treasures remain lost; a gilded wood statue
of Tutankhamun wearing the Red Crown, and the figurine showing a
mummified King Tut being carried by Menkaret.
