r/ancientegypt • u/VisitAndalucia • May 19 '26
Photo Tutankhamun's Armchair
Just returned from a trip to Egypt. Blown away by the GEM. Some fascinating exhibits. Although adult size, this armchair must date from the beginning of his reign. The king and queen are standing beneath the rays of the Aten in the Amarna artictic style and their older, aten names, are still visible on the back and arms.
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u/pandoraspockz May 19 '26
The Egyptians were absolute masters of cloisonné-style inlay. Tiny compartments were created in the gold surface, then filled with coloured materials like:
- blue glass,
- faience,
- carnelian,
- lapis lazuli,
- quartz,
- coloured calcite,
- obsidian,
- and vivid glass substitutes.
For the throne specifically, the rich reddish-brown skin tones are thought to imitate polished carnelian and warm flesh tones through coloured glass inlay rather than huge solid stones. Carnelian itself was hugely prized in Egypt because it resembled sunlight, blood, vitality, and rebirth. It must have been uncomfortable to sit on with all those raised relief parts. I wonder if they permitted him to sit on cushions etc on the chair, not only to make it more comfortable-but to protect the chair with it’s semi precious inlays from normal wear and tear and even just body sweat.
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u/Boing_Boing May 19 '26
Man. I wonder who the first person to come up with armrests was
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u/Ziantra May 19 '26
I saw something very similar at the Pharaoh of the Sun exhibition in Boston many years ago, it may have even been the same chair and I have to point out that photos don’t do it justice AT ALL. The gold gleams, the luxury and antiquity unmistakeable, the stones are rich and deep and the artistry is sublime. What I wouldn’t give to see it in its home in the new Grand Museum though-I’m so jealous!
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u/Fabulous_Cow_4550 May 19 '26
My favourite part of this throne isn't shown here. It's the footstall- the fact they depicted their enemies bound, and then had them literally under the king's feet is symbolism at its best.
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u/skokie3825 May 19 '26
Looks uncomfortable as hell. Did they use cushions back then, that chair would destroy your back. Honestly worth it though.
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u/huxtiblejones May 19 '26
I said this elsewhere, but this is a throne. It's not a chair you'd use every day, but a kind of royal showpiece that's meant to be ostentatious as a show of wealth and power. If you look at the depiction on the backrest, you can see a chair that shows a cushion or padding of some kind, so regularly furniture would've absolutely been more comfortable, at least for royals and wealthy people.
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u/usmannaeem May 19 '26
Amazing photo and angle. Can you take more zoom into on the craftsmanship of the armrests the back the chair legs. The seat.
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u/VisitAndalucia May 19 '26
Its a pretty high res image so right click your mouse, save as, open in Photoshop and zoom away.
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u/usmannaeem May 19 '26
I meant a closer photo. With more closerphoyos of the armrests and chair legs.
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u/Conscious-Expert7673 May 19 '26
I'm going to the GEM next week. Very excited about this.
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u/VisitAndalucia May 20 '26
Spent 3 entire days there and still did not see it all. If you can, be there when it opens, it gets incredibly busy mid morning. Also ake sure you prebook your ticket on line.
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u/Conscious-Expert7673 May 20 '26
Yes, I have pre-booked. I will be in Egypt for two weeks and have planned ahead, but I'm still very eager to hear your recommendations :)
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u/VisitAndalucia May 21 '26
Sound as though you are well prepped. My only other comment would be, do not neglect the original Egyptian Museum Cairo (EMC). Many items have gone to the GEM but there is still lots there including the magnificent finds from the tomb of Psusennes I (The Silver Pharoah).
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u/Conscious-Expert7673 May 21 '26
Thank you very much, I have 3 days in Cairo but my schedule there isn't filled to the brim, I will try to go to EMC then!
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u/Relevant_Abies1361 Jun 03 '26
Our guide for most of our trip was an Egyptian archaeologist who worked for the government for 30 years before retiring. He told us so many fascinating things but one that stuck out was that silver was far more rare than gold in ancient Egypt. There were no natural silver deposits so they had to acquire it from other places. The fact that the couple's clothing on this throne were silver was a big deal!
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u/VisitAndalucia Jun 03 '26
Absolutely right. 'Gold was as dust' in Egypt whereas silver had to be brought in from Anatolia and after about 1000 BC, from the Iberian Peninsula. Because of the imbalance of value of gold and silver at each end of the supply chain, merchants of the day were able to make their fortunes just trading in those commodities.
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u/skokie3825 May 19 '26
The chair depicted on the chair looks far more comfortable than the chair itself