The 2 EGP stamp shows Mask of Tutankhamun's mummy, the popular icon for ancient Egypt at The Egyptian Museum. It is said, by professionals, to be worth nearly as much as the Crown jewels.
Tutankhamun,who was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (ruled c.1333 BC – 1323 BC in the conventional chronology), during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom.
Tutankhamun,who was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (ruled c.1333 BC – 1323 BC in the conventional chronology), during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom.
His original name, Tutankhaten, means "Living Image of Aten", while Tutankhamun means "Living Image of Amun." In hieroglyphs the name Tutankhamun was typically written Amen-tut-ankh, because of a scribal custom that placed a divine name at the beginning of a phrase to show appropriate reverence. He is possibly also the Nibhurrereya of the Amarna letters. He was likely the 18th dynasty king 'Rathotis' who, according to Manetho, an ancient historian, had reigned for nine years — a figure which conforms with Flavius Josephus's version of Manetho's Epitome.
The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter of Tutankhamun's intact tomb received worldwide press coverage. It sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun's burial mask remains the popular symbol. Exhibits of artifacts from his tomb have toured the world. In February 2010, the results of DNA tests confirmed that Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten (mummy KV55) and his sister/wife (mummy KV35YL), whose name is unknown but whose remains are positively identified as "The Younger Lady" mummy found in KV35.
Oh my god! How lucky you are to get such a stamp :)
ReplyDeleteTutankhamun is surely great when we look at what we found in his tomb... I guess he was of some importance somehow! But I am afraid that all the buzz about him is just made to praise Howard Carter :( At that time the world was so European-centrist, you know... It is still is anyway!
Thank you for sharing this great stamp!
Adam,
http://egyptgift.blogspot.com/2010/01/tutankhamun.html