'Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs' Exhibition Debuts June 16 at LACMA; Exhibition Opens with Record-Breaking Ticket Sales.

LOS ANGELES -- "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" opens its doors June 16, 2005, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the first of four venues during a 27-month tour of the United States. The tour is organized by National Geographic, AEG Exhibitions, and Arts and Exhibitions International, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, and sponsored by Northern Trust Corporation.

More than 250,000 tickets to the LACMA exhibition have been sold since sales began in March, an unprecedented presale number for the venue.

"People of all ages have an enduring connection and fascination for Tutankhamun," said Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and director of the Giza and Saqqara Pyramids. "Now a new generation will discover the wonders of the pharaohs and ancient Egypt."

THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE

Visitors to "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" will view more than 130 artifacts from the tombs of King Tut, several of his relatives and his 18th Dynasty (1555 B.C. to 1305 B.C.) contemporaries. As viewers progress through the eleven galleries, the objects are presented in context of the social and political backdrop of the time in which their owners lived and ruled.

Each gallery focuses on a specific theme, such as "Daily Life in Ancient Egypt," "Traditional Religion," "Death, Burial and the Afterlife," and builds to the final galleries where King Tut's treasures reside. This includes a gallery dedicated to the five items in the tour that were found on the Pharaoh's body when Howard Carter entered the tomb in 1922. The room also includes the visual effect of superimposed items on a projection of Tut's body to depict where they were positioned when the coffin was opened. All of the treasures in the exhibit are between 3,300 and 3,500 years old.

"Egypt's ancient treasures are among the world's greatest cultural legacies," said Terry Garcia, National Geographic's executive vice president for mission programs. "Now, a new generation of Americans will have the opportunity to view these amazing artifacts from ancient Egyptian sites, including more than 100 objects that have never been seen before in the U.S. This is an extraordinary opportunity that may not come again."

The final gallery of the exhibition features scans of Tut's mummy that were obtained as part of a landmark, five-year Egyptian research and conservation project, partially funded by National Geographic, that will CT-scan the ancient mummies of Egypt. The scans were captured through the use of a portable CT scanner, donated by Siemens Medical Solutions, which allowed researchers to see through the mummy's wrappings and compile the first three-dimensional picture of Tutankhamun, which also is on display.

"We have a world-class team of curators and exhibit designers guiding this exhibit and viewer experience," said John Norman, president and CEO of Arts and Exhibitions International. "With the level of scholarly expertise combined with the beautiful and subtle artifact treatment, and some of the latest scientific discoveries about King Tut, we anticipate this tour will be as culturally important as any exhibition in recent memory."

Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG, said, "A prestigious team of partners has made this extraordinary exhibit possible for millions of Americans to experience. We are thrilled that we have come together to bring this important cultural experience to a new generation."

"We are proud to bring the treasures of King Tut and the Valley of the Kings back to the United States after such a long absence," said William A. Osborn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Northern Trust Corporation. "Since our founding in 1889, Northern Trust has advanced a culture of caring and investing in the communities we serve. We are pleased to share this unique cultural and educational experience with the thousands of people who will visit the exhibit as it debuts in Los Angeles and as it travels across the country."

"Northern Trust's overall corporate philosophy and strong commitment to giving back to the communities where we live and work make them ideal partners and will clearly help to provide the opportunity for the millions of guests who will now be able to experience this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition," added Leiweke.

TUTANKHAMUN AND EXHIBIT BACKGROUND

Tutankhamun was one of the last kings of Egypt's 18th Dynasty and ruled during a crucial, turmoil-filled period of Egyptian history. The boy king died under mysterious circumstances in 1323 B.C., in the ninth year of his reign. He was probably only about 18 or 19 when he died.

The exhibition includes 50 of Tutankhamun's burial objects, including his royal diadem -- the gold crown discovered encircling the head of the king's mummified body that he likely wore while living -- and one of the gold and precious stone inlaid canopic coffinettes that contained his mummified internal organs.

The exhibition also will include more than 70 objects from tombs of other 18th Dynasty royals as well as several non-royal individuals. These stone, faience and wooden pieces from burials before Tut's reign will give visitors a sense of what the lost burials of other royalty and commoners may have been like.

"We are thrilled that the treasures of King Tut have returned to the United States for the first time in more than 25 years, and gratified to give the people of Southern California the opportunity to see them here at LACMA," said LACMA President and Director Andrea Rich. "The exhibition features the finest treasures of ancient Egypt, offering our visitors the experience of a world of artifacts they might otherwise never see." Rich added, "With 250,000 tickets reserved to date, it is clear the public is excited to share in this opportunity at LACMA."

THE CURATORIAL TEAM

The layout, flow and scholarly conception of the show is being organized by curator David Silverman, the Eckley B. Coxe Jr. professor of Egyptology and curator-in-charge, Egyptian Section, University of Pennsylvania Museum, who also helped curate the 1970s tour.

Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and director of the Giza and Saqqara Pyramids, wrote the exhibition companion book, "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," and a children's book, "Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Boy King," both published by National Geographic.

LACMA co-curators Nancy Thomas and Kathlyn Cooney, both trained Egyptologists and art historians, have worked as part of the curatorial team to develop the installation and the educational material in the exhibition. They also have worked with LACMA's educators to create an innovative children's activity center ("The Pharaoh's World") which will be available free of charge to all LACMA visitors during the exhibition's run.

This team of curators, along with curators from The Field Museum, also developed the audio tour that accompanies the exhibit. The audio tour is recorded by native Egyptian and film and television star Omar Sharif, and the Spanish version is recorded by Univision anchor Jorge Ramos.

TICKET AND TOUR INFORMATION

After the exhibit ends its run in Los Angeles on November 15, 2005, it will travel to the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale (opens December 2005); The Field Museum, Chicago (opens May 2006) and The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia (opens February 2007).

Treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb were last displayed in the United States during a seven-city tour from 1976 to 1979, which included LACMA and set traveling exhibition attendance records with some eight million visitors.

"Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" school group rates start at $6, and individual tickets range from $15 to $30. Exhibition hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, and tickets are for a designated hour. Due to high ticket demand, advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended. For information on LACMA tickets, please call 1-877-TUT-TKTS or visit www.ticketmaster.com, www.KingTut.org or www.lacma.org. For more information on the exhibition, please visit www.nationalgeographic.com/tut or www.KingTut.org.

ABOUT LACMA

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LACMA, is the premiere encyclopedic visual arts museum in the western United States. Established in 1965 as an independent institution, the museum has assembled a collection of approximately 100,000 works from around the world spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present. Through its far-reaching collections and extensive public programming, the museum is both a resource to and a reflection of Southern California's many cultural communities and heritages. The museum draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and has more than 75,000 members. It is accredited through the American Association of Museums.

General Museum Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday noon-8 p.m.; Friday noon-9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; closed Wednesday. Call 323-857-6000, or visit www.lacma.org for more information. The museum offers free admission after 5 p.m. every day the museum is open and all day on the second Tuesday of each month. LACMA's "Free after Five" program is sponsored by Target.

Location: LACMA is located at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Pay parking is available in the lots at Wilshire Boulevard and Spaulding Avenue, and on Ogden Drive.