Masterpieces of Tutankhamun

This coffee table-sized book presents a number of the treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb in all of their (two-dimensional) glory. There are 73 full-color, full-page photographs of artifacts and treasures, each one accompanied by an in-depth commentary by David P. Silverman. Along with objects that toured the world as part of the King Tutankhamun exhibition are a number of artifacts too large or delicate to be included in that famous exhibition. Silverman also includes a handful of objects that relate to but are not among the artifacts from King Tutankhamun's tomb. The gorgeous photographs include statues, exquisite pieces of jewelry, busts, thrones, game boards, unguent jars, beds, cabinets, miniatures of coffins, and a myriad of other objects, with the collection culminating, of course, in the Golden Mask of Tutankhamun itself. Silverman provides a lot of detail in his commentaries for each object, and I must admit the writing got rather dry at times, especially since I often could not make out whatever small aspects he often referred to on the individual pieces. Those with a deeper appreciation for the ancient arts and techniques should find the written details a wonderful source of information, however. Silverman does one thing particularly well - he identifies the varied influences behind much of the artwork. While much of the work was traditional and iconographic, definite traces of a more naturalistic style also appear. This reinforces the importance of King Tutankhamun in history, as it was the young king who restored the ancient gods and goddesses rejected by his predecessor Akhenaton; elements of the naturalistic, more expressionistic type of artwork from the period of Akhenaton's controversial reign, though, remained. Although Silverman tells us where each individual piece was found in the tomb itself, it can be hard to get a real sense of that location because no photographs of the tomb as it was first seen after some 3000 years are included. If you want detail about individual pieces, though, Masterpieces of Tutankhamun is definitely worth a look.