Ceremonial Throne of Tutankhamun

Artefact Details

Gallery number: 10 – Upper Floor

Period: New Kingdom

Dynasty: 18th Dynasty, Reign of Tutankhamun (1327-1318 BC)

Size: Height: 102 cm, Length: 54 cm, Width: 60 cm

Place of discovery: Valley of the Kings – Thebes

Material: Wood, gold leaf, silver, semi-precious stones, glass paste

This ceremonial throne was the most beautiful object among all those found in the Antechamber of the tomb, entirely overlaid with an embossed gold sheet 3 mm thick and inlaid with vitreous paste and semi-precious stones. The back of this masterpiece of ancient Egyptian art depicts, in pure Amarna style, Queen Ankhsenamun, royal wife of Tutankhamun, under a kiosk rubbing an ointment on King Tutankhamun’s shoulder while the sun god spreads his rays on the couple. Howard Carter stated that this was “the most beautiful thing found to date in Egypt.”