Of all the cold cases in the art world thrillers, none beats the story of Tutankhamun's funerary chamber and the saga of the art treasures it held, recovered in what turned out to be the most important excavation ever relating to the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. Image from the exhibition "Discovering Tutankhamun: The Photographs of Harry Burton" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Harry Burton, "The Antechamber," December 1922.

Yet it took more than 80 years for the visual evidence to go on display under the title "Discovering Tutankhamun: The Photographs of Harry Burton," first at the Oriental Institute Museum (at the University of Chicago) and now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until April 29. Harry Burton, Wood half-length bust of Tutankhamun, Gelatin silver print.

The photographs reveal a hidden aspect of the archaeological venture. The images show the finds as they were when first seen in their raw, unedited condition, immensely different from the polished appearance that the world famous treasures later acquired after cleaning and restoration. Harry Burton, Alabaster jars.

Lindsey Hall, "Procession of tourists." Once removed from the tomb, objects had to be transferred to the field laboratory in the nearby tomb of Seti II, under guard - here, followed by a procession of tourists. Between 1922 and 1926, some twelve thousand tourists thronged the Valley daily to watch as objects were brought out of the tomb.

Harry Burton, who had been taking photographs for an art historian in Florence for years and had been hired by the Met to record the monuments at Thebes, spent much of the next 11 years covering the discoveries of the Egyptologist, Howard Carter. The technical quality of his images is remarkable. Harry Burton, Painted box, Gelatin silver print.

Visitors leave the show, and readers lay down the book, with the dizzying feeling of having just been personally taken through the extraordinary excavation as it was being carried out. Harry Burton, Outermost shrine, gelatin silver print.

This small photographic display says more about the culture of Ancient Egypt and our own approach to its enigmatic gems than any blockbuster archaeological show. No specialist information is needed to find it fascinating. In its understated way, this is a masterpiece of sophisticated museology. Harry Burton, Detail of a guardian statue of the king at the entrance to the Burial Chamber, gelatin silver print.

(photos The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Lire l'article "Reopening an Ancient Egyptian Case" de Souren Melikian: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/23/features/melik24.php