'There was light': Amunhotep III and his Dazzling Age

The ancient Egyptian king Amunhotep III was the grandfather of the famous boy king Tutankhamun.

Tutankhamun ruled Egypt for only nine years and died at the age of 18. He was largely forgotten by history until the discovery of his relatively undisturbed tomb by the British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922. In the hundred years since this discovery Tutankhamun has become a household name the world over.

Using the collections of the Oriental Museum, this exhibition focuses on Tutankhamun’s family, particularly his father and grandfather, together with the courtiers who surrounded them, exploring the dazzling age of the boy king.

These kings ruled at a time when Egyptian power extended over lands from Syria to Nubia. They possessed enormous wealth, including luxuries from across the known world. There was Light showcases a selection of treasures from this golden age, ranging from royal sculpture to the intimate personal objects once owned by the men and women who lived and died along the banks of the Nile over three thousand years ago.