Posted on 12/03/2004 7:41:03 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The gilded treasures of King Tutankhamun are on their way back to the United States in what could prove a gold rush for Egypt and big business.
"Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" starts a 27-month tour of the United States in June 2005 that will mark the first return here in more than two decades of the precious artifacts buried with the mysterious boy king.
The exhibit is twice the size of the late-1970s King Tut global tour which launched an era of "blockbuster" museum exhibitions. This year's version will charge up to $30 per ticket and give corporate backers a share in the profits, heralding a new trend in partnerships between private companies, museums and the antiquities' home countries.
"It is a new business model. It seems like a lot of museums have trouble financially in organizing major exhibits. The costs are getting really exorbitant," said John Norman, president of Arts and Exhibitions International, one of the companies providing the funding.
AEI is joined by Anschutz Entertainment Group, which operates sports stadiums, promotes pop concerts and theatrical productions, and National Geographic (news - web sites) magazine.
The three entities will finance the entire costs of shipping, designing, installing and marketing the King Tut exhibit, and share profits with participating museums and Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The concept is a major departure from the more philanthropic business sponsorship of the arts that gave new life to orchestras, theaters and art galleries in the late 20th century.
Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said he hoped Egypt would clear about $10 million in each of the four U.S. cities hosting the exhibit.
Hawass said the money will go toward building a new Grand Museum in Cairo as well as preserving other ancient Egyptian monuments such as the Pyramids and the Sphinx.
Tutankhamun ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago from the age of eight until his death as a teenager. His tomb, packed with golden treasures, was discovered in Luxor's Valley of the Kings in 1922 by British archeologist Howard Carter.
Organizers expect that up to three million people will visit the coming U.S. exhibit, which is commanding some of the highest ticket prices ever seen. Tickets for the an adult range from $15 to $30 dollars on the first stop at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Organizers defended the price, comparing it to the cost of a movie and dinner, or a ticket to the theater or a pop concert.
"Where can you go as an adult for $30 and see ancient Egyptian artifacts that are valued at over $650 million?," said Norman. "It is unfortunate that museums can't be free anymore, but those are the economics."
Lordy...now I'm gonna have that song in my head for the next zillion years...
Thanks..
FRom Yahoo
http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/40/40035.html
This movie mogul doesn't live in Hollywood. Indulging in a little "vulture" investing through The Anschutz Company (founded in 1958), Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz owns 78% of Regal Entertainment Group, which in turn controls theater chains United Artists Theatre Company, Regal Cinemas, and Edwards Theatres. The firm recently branched out into publishing, purchasing The San Francisco Examiner. Other holdings include the Los Angeles' Staples Center and a few of that city's sports franchises. Anschutz made his first fortune from oil on his Utah/Wyoming ranch; his black gold holdings include Forest Oil and Anschutz Exploration. He is also chairman and majority owner of Qwest Communications.
You don't see the surname 'Anschutz' every day. ;^)
That having been said, I would LOVE to see this exhibition!
I was a kid when this came to the US the last time.
I still remember how jealous I was that my aunt and uncle got to see it.
I visited the exhibit in the 70's, well worth every penny.
No way am I gonna pay thirty bucks to get cursed. Also, seems to me that I saw at least SOME of this stuff in the Field Museum, and it wasn't more than 20 years ago.
(Fell in love with the little ~18" tall statue of the goddess Selket...)
It was much cheaper in Cairo and the lines were a lot shorter. :-)
Caught mine in New Orleans. Can understand being cheaper in Cairo, like buying boots in Texas.
Don't be to sure, right now it's west, east north and the reasonable 4th should be the south, come on Houston.
Thirty bucks a ticket? I saw the first exhibit and $30 is a steal for a bigger show. I'd stand in line to pay $50.
The statue is even more charming up close and "in the round" -- and in the subdued, modeled lighting of the display room.
But more like this:
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo has more Tutankhamun stuff in storage than they have on display at any given time. I was there in '84 and that 10 day trip was an unforgetable experience. In addition to visiting Tut's treasures in the museum, we visited Tut in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. I recommend the touring exhibit to you!
If it comes to Houston the tickets (2) are on me.
I wish I'd had the time to visit the Valley, , at least I was able to ride a camel and enter the Pyramid at Giza.. maybe someday we'll do a Nile cruise and visit the temple cities as well.
Somewhere in the south would have been nice. Of course, they probably thought us Christian hick red-staters wouldn't support it.
Dude, they hooked us up. Ft. Lauderdale in December is quite tolerable. I just hope the lines aren't as bad as they were in New Orleans when I saw the exhibit as a kid.
See... VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs will appear at the following venues:
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, June 16 to November 15, 2005
Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, December 2005
Chicago Field Museum, May 2006
I'm looking for the 4th..
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