King Tut Exhibit To Come Back to Boston After Almost 6 Decades

If you were wondering what the random, large Egyptian statue at City Hall Plaza was, we have your answer. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Tuesday morning that the exhibition “King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh” will open at The Saunders Castle at Park Plaza on June 13, almost six decades after the last time King Tut’s possessions were in Boston in 1963.

“It’s going to attract visitors from all over New England,” Walsh said. “It’s going to be an incredible opportunity for educational resources for our families in our school.”

This exhibit is part of a 10-city tour around the world, Boston being the fourth stop after Paris, Los Angeles and London. The exhibit will feature more than 150 original artifacts from King Tut’s tomb, according to the city. Many of the pieces have never been outside of Egypt before this exhibition tour and will go back to being a part of the Grand Egyptian Museums’s permanent collection for good once the tour is over.

At the announcement, Walsh stood in front of a 25-foot, 2-ton statue of an Egyptian tomb guard. The black and gold statue is a recreation of the Guardian statue that stood for almost 3,000 years guarding the burial chamber in the tomb, said Troy Collins, CMO and vice president of business development for IMG Exhibitions.

“In 1922, Howard Carter, the Egyptologist, captivated the world when he discovered this tomb. Still today, it is the only ancient Egyptian tomb that has been found fully intact,” Collins said.

Children from various Boston schools joined the mayor during the announcement, taking photos after in black and gold Egyptian headdresses. Stephanie Hoyt, a sixth-grade special education teacher at Weymouth’s Abigail Adams Middle School, called the exhibit a once in a lifetime opportunity for the kids.

"What an unbelievable opportunity to have these guys here being part of the community and coming to such an exhibit,” Hoyt said.