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Tag: Alabaster Perfume Vase

Where can you find King Tut Objects That are not on Display in Toronto?

As I write this piece, we are only hours away from the opening of King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto Canada. I was at the media preview on Friday and wrote an in-depth article on what to expect.

For me the Toronto show was the first time in my life that I saw Tuts treasures in person. Its a very remarkable experience to see them withmyown eyes andonethat Im never going to forget.

I thought I would take the opportunity to point out a few of Tutankhamun’s treasures which, for various reasons, are not part of the show.

You can see ALL the items, listed below, at King Tut Virtual. In fact, I found that taking a stroll through this virtual world, after seeing the exhibit, was a good way to round out the experience.

The Silver Trumpet

This very fragile silver trumpet was embellished with gold. It was wrapped in reeds when it was found. According to NPR it has only been played twicesince the tomb was discovered the last time being 1939. In both instances a modern day mouthpiece was used. It is currently being housed in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

King Tuts Golden Death Mask

With the exception of the pyramids, this artefact is probably the most well-known symbol of ancient Egypt. It no longer travels outside of the country (along with Tuts coffins) and itis currently housed in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Sandro Vannini has taken some exceptional photographs of the mask and here at Heritage Key you can see a 360 degree slideshow of Tutankhamun’s death mask.

The Alabaster Perfume Vase

This particular jar is kept in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. It was dedicated to King Tut and his queen. It has a long slender neck with a vulture on top. The cool alabaster (calcite) material would have aided in keeping the perfume fresh. The figures on each side symbolize the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. Sandro Vannini’s great photographs of this artefact can be seen here.

Found in the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62), The Alabaster Perfume Jar. Image Credit - Sandro Vannini.

Ceremonial Dagger and Sheath

This ceremonial weapon is currently being displayed at the San Francisco King Tut exhibit. Itwas meant forshow, not battle. Although its made with iron, the blade is decorated with granulated gold (a soft metal) and the end of the handle is made with coloured glass and semi-precious stones. Its golden sheath has a rope pattern on the front. This pattern continues onto the reverse and ends with an engraving of a jackals head.

Small Container in the Shape of a Double Cartouche

These double gold containers rest on a silver platform. Near the border of the platform the symbols for life and dominion were incised. The god Heh (a god that represents infinity) is depicted on the object. She is kneeling on a basket and grasping a palm brand. This object is located at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. See it in detail in this slideshow.

King Tuts Coffins

The three coffins, that held King Tuts body, no longer leave Egypt. Tut’s corpse doesn’t travel outside of Egypt either. Stephen Byrne has a detailed article on the design of the coffins. The third, and final, coffin is the most famous and is made out of solid gold. They are currently in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. These coffins, along with Tutankhamuns funerary mask and other treasures, will be housed in the GEM museum when it opens in 2013.

Have you visited King Tut at the AGO? How did you like the exhibition? And do you agree with us that a visit to King Tut Virtual afterwards, to study the Boy King’s death mask and other treasures is a nice addition to your experience? Is the ‘King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs’ a once-in-a-lifetime experience, or will you return to get another dose of King Tut’s treasures? If you want more information on Pharoah Tutankhamun, visit our handy overview page for in-depth articles and the latest news.

Sandro Vannini’s Photography – The Alabaster Perfume Vase

Found in the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62), The Alabaster Perfume Jar. Image Credit - Sandro Vannini.Calcite was a popular material used in ancient Egyptian times as the stone’s cool surfaces meant that the contents, such as perfumed fats and unguents, would be better preserved. However, perfumed fats were a luxury item and popular with grave-robbers in ancient times as they were easy to carry, and difficult to identify as being from a tomb. The Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62) was believed to have been raided of about 350 litres of perfumed fats and unguents, according to an estimate by the famous explorer Howard Carter!

One of the most beautiful artefacts from King Tutankhamun’s tomb was the Alabaster Perfume Vase, which stored perfumed fats used as a cosmetic. The artefact was one of thousands stored at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, that was photographed by the immensely talented Sandro Vannini.

‘Alabaster Perfume Jar’ Slideshow

Heritage Key is working with Sandro and bringing his extensive catalogue of beautiful photography of Egyptian antiquities onto the world wide web, which we’re sure will fascinate even the most hardened Egyptologist! To watch a slideshow of the Alabaster Perfume Vase, simply click any of the thumbnails below.

See it for yourself in King Tut VX

But it doesn’t stop there, as you can also check out a 3D version of the Alabaster Perfume Vase in King Tut Virtual – simply just register for your avatar in our quick and easy process, and you’ll be exploring the virtual artefacts of King Tutankhamun, walking through the Valley of the Kings and even seeing more of Sandro Vannini’s photography in the virtual gallery.

Sandro Vannini’s Photography

Years of experience in photographing the magnificent artefacts and tombs of Egypt has honed the skills of Sandro, and given him the experience needed to capture the beautiful details of the Alabaster Perfume Vase. The equipment used to take the amazing photographs plays its part too, and Sandro used a Hasselblad ELD Ixpress 528C camera to take these images.

So for those of you who cant make the trip to the Cairo Museum to see the Alabaster Perfume Vase, Heritage Key offers these stunning photographs by Sandro Vannini which capture the stunning Alabaster Perfume Vase from the Tomb of King Tutankhamun. But there’s more: you can visit virtual replicas of Tutankhamun treasures in the Heritage Key VX King Tut exhibition, which features a virtual replica of many breath-taking artefacts, including the Alabaster Perfume Vase.

Don’t miss out on new treasures!

This post is part of a series focussing on amazing photographs from ancient Egypt. Keep checking back as well keep adding new images by Sandro Vannini. To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the updates, simply subscribe by email to receive notifications when new images are uploaded. For the more digitally advanced, there’s also an RSS feed with updates available.

See More Amazing Photography by Sandro

Have a look at some of the other stunning photographs by Sandro Vannini here at Heritage Key:

Ask Sandro

We’ll be sitting down with our favourite photographer for an extended chat soon, so if you have any questions for Sandro we’ll send the answers straight to you!

The Alabaster Perfume Vase

Found between the first and second shrines which contained the royal coffins and King Tutankhamun’ssarcophagus, the Alabaster Perfume Vase is made up of four pieces of alabaster which have been fixed together. Inscribed with the names of King Tutankhamun and his Queen Ankhesenamen, the vase also features a sematawy symbol which is common throughout ancient Egyptian tombs, and represents the unification of the Upper and Lower Egypt.

There are two figures on either side of the container, who represent Hapy – the god of the River Nile. Shown tying the papyrus plant (which represents the north lands of Egypt) to a lotus plant (which represents the south lands of Egypt), the god is worshipped as a deity who brings fertile soils, and hence a fruitful bounty. On the vase, Hapy is shown with a large belly and ample bosoms.

At the top of the container are shown two cobras – one wears the hedjet White Crown of Upper Egypt, whilst the other adorns the desheret Red Crown of Lower Egypt. Protecting the perfume contained within is a vulture of a god who is either Mut or Nekhbet, who wears an atef-crown.

On the panel at the base of the vase are shown two falcons with solar disks on their heads, using their wings to protect the names of King Tutankhamun and Queen Ankhesenamen. The Alabaster Perfume Vase’s lower panel is finished with painted ivory and gold.

The Ancient Egyptians were keen on their beauty, and as such their cosmetics were strongly valued products. In addition to cosmetics, the Egyptians had treatments for various conditions and watched what they ate to maintain good health. Heritage Key even offers advice based on their ancient Health and Beauty tips!

Of course, take them with a pinch of salt. Nefertiti was definitely a beautiful lady, but spending over 200,000 on plastic surgery to look like her could well be seen as overkill.

Video: Alabaster Perfume Vase on display in King Tut Virtual

King Tut Virtual is the online virtual experience where you can explore 3D recreations of the stunning artefacts that were discovered in the Tomb of King Tutankhamun (KV62). Journey through the Valley of the Kings and explore the wildlife along the River Nile, taking in the stunning realism and details. Invite your friends to join you, or meet new people from across the globe and discover the treasures of the virtual world together! Explore the treasures from KV62, go virtual and visit the King Tut exhibition nowor learn more about Tutankhamun!