CAIRO- After nearly a century on display, the treasures of the golden pharaoh Tutankhamun will bid farewell to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo Sunday, in preparation for transferring the remaining artifacts to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) ahead of its official opening on November 1.
Director of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Ali Abdel Halim, in statements to MENA, said that the Tutankhamun Hall will be closed as of Monday to finalize the transfer of the last remaining items of the young king’s collection to the GEM, where they will be displayed together for the first time in a dedicated hall.
Most of Tutankhamun’s collection had already been moved in recent months, with only the golden mask and a few other artifacts remaining, the director of the museum said.
He added that arrangements are already underway for their transport, with the exact transfer date to be announced later.
Among the items already relocated are the canopic chest that held the king’s organs after mummification, the gilded wooden shrine of the god Anubis which accompanied the pharaoh on his journey to the afterlife, and the golden throne adorned with scenes of the young king with his wife, Queen Ankhesenamun.
Also transferred was one of Tutankhamun’s golden coffins, which, along with his mask, remains among the most iconic and globally admired symbols of the royal collection that has captivated the world since the discovery of his tomb in 1922, the director of the museum added.
