I have found keeping track of my reading in 2024 and 2025 extremely useful and interesting. I know that nobody else is really interested – and that is ok – but it helps me to structure my reading and that is reason enough to continue this year.
Werbung wegen Markennennung. Considered advertising due to naming of brands.
Tutankhamun: The Eternal Splendor of the Boy Pharaoh, Text by T.G.H. James – Photography by Araldo De Luca
To start off the year, some non-fiction… some jaw-dropping non-fiction.
This book gives a brief history of Tutankhamun’s place in history, especially in relation with the religious, political and artistic upheaval brought out by his father Akhenaton. It then covers Howard Carter’s career from artist to archaeologist and his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
What really stands out in this volume though are the photos by Araldo De Luca and the accompanying texts, detailing composition, imagery, techniques used, etc. The photos are stunning and the objects photographed even more so. Objects like the Canopic Shrine, the Ceremonial Throne or even a pair of earrings with duck heads are amazing. And there are so many more. I had to read this a few pages at a time – in order to fully appreciate what I was seeing.
Some thoughts:
- The author is perhaps a little to biased in Carter’s favour. Although the main allegations against him only came to light after this book was published, there were plenty of contemporary rumours and suspicions that he was stealing from the tomb.
- The tomb was robbed twice in antiquity. What we have left is amazing… but that begs the question – what was taken? The robbers also damaged some of the objects they left behind. Very sad.
- Tutankhamun was a minor pharaoh. He was still basically a boy when he died. How magnificent must the tombs of the great pharaohs have been? All plundered by thieves in antiquity.