I visited the Tutankhamun (treasures of the golden pharoh) back in January. It’s a fascinating exhibition as you would expect however I was particularly blown away by all the intricate jewellery and trinkets on display.
What I was interested in and could help wondering the whole way around then exhibition was how the Egyptians made all these items over 3000 years ago. What tools did they use, how did they gather all the materials. And how do all these pieces made over 3000 year and found almost 100 years ago still look like they could have been made yesterday. How much restoration was required, how would someone go about cleaning and caring for such intricate precious items. I feel there could be a whole other exhibition on that topic.
I remember learning about the Egyptians at school, one part that I remembered well was all the talk of curses and how everyone who was present at the opening of the tomb died in quick succession. I was pleased to see the exhibition dispelled the theories, though it is understandable where the superstitions came from as there were certainly a few odd coincidences.
As much as I loved looking at all the artefacts, I found the timeline of the discovery also fascinating, and how this dig almost didn’t happen. What I also found compelling was how the world was so taken by the discovery, understandably, this tomb was the cream of the crop in Egyptian discoveries. It captured the imaginations of many and went on to influence art and design of the following eras.
When I was looking at many of the jewellery pieces on display I felt like I could have been looking at jewellery from the 1930’s. The geometric shapes, clean lines and repetitive patterns feel very modern, but then these influences have been around longer than even the Egyptians as these shapes and pattern occur throughout nature. It is clear that the Art Deco movement took influences from the ancient Egyptians which is why it feel so familiar to me, having grown up with parents very much interested in this era.
It was the jewellery from the exhibition that was a personal highlight. The vibrate colours of the semi-precious stone used in contrast with gold made the pieces so striking. I can’t help but imagine the tools used to carve the small shapes and tiny beads. What also impressed me by the exhibition was the way items were displayed. Most exhibits were visible from front and back. A lot of the jewellery was displayed on clear perspex so the back of the items were just as visible as the front, which is quite unique and much appreciate by inquisitive minds like mine. Though it still didn’t reveal any secrets of their processes, just that the Egyptians had an incredible eye for details with the reverse often as ornate as the front.
As I came away from the exhibition I couldn’t help but have colours and ideas for jewellery rolling around my head. The following day when I returned home from my trip to London, I scribbled down an idea that kept fight it’s way to the front. Inspired in part by a pattern on a large vessel I saw, and by the colours and shapes that appeared in much of the jewellery. I have to get ideas down when they’re still fresh especially if I don’t have time to implement them straight away.
Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long before I had time to delve into my bead stash, find some appropriate colours and see if my idea would work. It did, even if it was a little fiddly. I wanted to incorporate interlocking triangles in the centre with a chequer board edging. I created a string of triangles (I’m not sure what you’d call that stitch) then secured them in place with a herringbone edge.
It was particularly tricky getting the triangles to behave while adding the edging; however I persevered and made it work. I’m really pleased with the result, it is pretty much exactly what I had in mind which is great as many ideas don’t work out quite right and have to go through several tweaks first.
If you get a chance to see the Tutankhamun exhibition on its final world tour before it is returned to Egypt for good I would highly recommend going.
Thanks for reading!
Steph
Nettynot Creates 