CHALLENGE:
SurroundArt served as the fine art services company for the traveling exhibition Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs , providing consulting, installation, mount fabrication, and packing. National Geographic, AEG Exhibitions and Arts and Exhibitions International, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, brought the extensive exhibition of more than 130 treasures from the tomb of the celebrated pharaoh Tutankhamun, other Valley of the Kings tombs, and additional ancient sites, to the United States on a 27-month tour beginning in Los Angeles.

The exhibit includes 50 major artifacts excavated from Tutankhamun's tomb, including his royal diadem and one of the gold and inlaid canopic coffinettes that contained his mummified internal organs. More than 70 artifacts from other royal graves of the 18th dynasty (1555 B.C.-1305 B.C.) are showcased as well, including those of pharaohs Amenhotep ll and Thutmose lV and the rich, intact tomb of Yuya and Tuyu, parents-in-law of Amenhotep lll and great-grandparents of Tutankhamun. The exhibition will draw visitors back in time with inventive design and innovative technology, allowing viewers to explore and experience the world of King Tut.   The exhibit also features National Geographic images and film footage about the golden age of the pharaohs, as well as information on cutting-edge research into the life and death of Tutankhamun. A smaller number of treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb were last displayed in the United States during a seven-city tour from 1976 to 1979, which attracted some 8 million visitors and set traveling show attendance records.
  

 

 
 

SCOPE OF WORK:
SurroundArt was the only American company, approved by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, authorized to handle these priceless artifacts. Overall, we provided registrarial services. Representatives from our company first went to Germany, where all the objects and existing crates were inspected. During the design process, conservation concerns regarding the crates were addressed. We were also responsible for designing and fabrication of three cases. SurroundArt designed and manufactured 100 mounts - 30 on site - specifically for this exhibition. We installed mounts and objects at LACMA. When the exhibition closed in Los Angeles, SurroundArt oversaw deinstallation and necessary retrofit of crates. The objects were repacked for safe travel to Fort Lauderdale, where we repeated the above for installation at the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale.

SurroundArt completed the job on schedule and within budget.