Glass from the Tomb of Tutankhamun

Glass from the Tomb of Tutankhamun: In Celebration of the International Year of Glass and the Centennial of the Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun Howard Carter famously exclaimed “everywhere the glint of gold” when describing the contents of the tomb of Tutankhamun. He could instead have said “the glint of glass,” as the tomb also contained thousands of glass inlays and beads, as well as some of the most outstanding glass objects from Late Bronze Age Egypt.
On occasion of 2022 being the United Nations International Year of Glass and the centennial of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz, Germany, Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, and Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, USA, have partnered to create a new film highlighting the fascinating glass objects which accompanied Tutankhamun to the afterlife. We are grateful for the generous contributions of Sandro Vannini, the Griffith Institute and Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford, and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Egypt which made this film possible.
The video is available in English, German, and Arabic:
German: • Glas aus dem Grab des ...
Arabic: • زجاج من مقبرة توت عنخ ...

[@wesleypipesgaming19]

Imagine what these things must have looked like right after the crafting was finished. I bet they were even more beautiful.

[@stormengine3261]

After 3000 years it had to have looked awesome when new. . Makes you wonder when these things were crafted? Was it all one big ceremony while the boy king lay in a temporary tomb or somewhere else

[@r8chlletters]

This was amazing-I have loved this exhibition since I saw it as a child and even went to Egypt to see it again there. I did not realize how much glass work was a part of these objects and did not realize how amazingly detailed the features of these were. Thank you for sharing this 🤍

[@marnidamoulakis3827]

This was absolutely fascinating! I had no idea they had glass and I’ve watched a phenomenal amount of material about ancient Egypt The last thing I would’ve guessed that mask to have the blue inlays made out of would’ve been glass! Thank you!

[@franksliwa362]

The artisans of that period of time were masters!! Just a amazing video…

[@Shreddylife]

It's amazing to me how good the Egyptians we're at creating things with the technology they had. Truly amazing work

[@philipwhatcott1964]

Fascinating. Fabulous artistry. Everything ancient Egyptian fascinates me.

[@cherricrittenden894]

I would love to see a detailed documentary of just the glass objects!

[@justjane805]

Thank you. I knew nothing about Ancient Egyptian glass. I'm keen to learn more.

[@philipcorwin5989]

Unbelievable how they were able to make these items back then, just amazing that they could make quality items unlike the items that come from China today with modern machines!!!!

[@sheilaghbrosky4150]

Honey, you need to do some research on China. Your ignorance is astounding!

[@helenburke9507]

Wow!,,,,,, This is so wonderful. The ancient ones really had knowledge that stifles the mind. When I saw the pieces in the museum I had no idea they had glass and made of glass. Thank You so much for sharing this. I love glass work of any kind

[@CreamAle]

I like how this feels more like a tribute rather than a informative/educational video.

[@gowanhewlett745]

SUBERB presentation both visually and in tone of the speaker. SUPERB. Thankyou

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Thank you!

[@rasclotify]

Glass was considered WAY more important/rare in ancient Egypt than gold, so in a way we don't give Tut's glass treasures the same attention with our modern eyes b/c we are too busy marveling at the gold objects, but for them it was the reversal. We freak out over the gold, they'd be freaking out over the glass.

[@elgoog7830]

To a non-materialistic mind like mine, the glass by far exceeds the gold.

[@rasclotify]

@@elgoog7830 Yes. I’m an artist so the craftsmanship, esp given the time , blows me away the most.

[@crli4353]

"Important" is a dubious word for what you are claiming. In terms of being used for decoration, glass was far more versatile because it could be made into an array of colors. Even today, there are only 4 colors of gold, and yet the only color that can be worked easily by hand remains yellow. There is ZERO evidence that the Egyptians "freaked out" over glass. There is plenty of evidence that everyone in the world "freaked out" over gold. Gold is still a universal currency world wide. From the tribal amazonian rain forests to the highest reaches of society, there is no natural element more coveted than gold.

[@rasclotify]

@@crli4353 I appreciate yr skepticism , yr interest on the subject & desire to have the facts be accurate, Sir. However, I literally watched Egyptologists in a doc on Nat Geo or PBS days prior to watching this clip talking about this very subject. Experts in the arena. I myself, NEVER claimed to be ANY expert, but also didn't just make it up, lol, and was not claiming expertise in my comment. I feel yr reading way far into what I said, " freaked out". I dont know if they literally FREAKED out. Impressed? Is that better? lol. I swear we are far too jaded & all too ready to call ppl out these days. Not looking to debate what is just meant to be interesting.You may be right, the doc I saw may be wrong, I may have not be nuanced enough for yr liking, but it is really all ok. Breathe. You can have the trophy. Make sure it's gold.

[@crli4353]

@@rasclotify First, I appreciate your willingness not holding and arguing a silly position for only the sake of your pride. THAT is what we have far too much pf these days. We live in a world where facts are so close at hand and yet we have all been guilty of spreading hearsay and lies. You are correct that you never claimed expertise on the subject, but you also NEVER stated it was only your opinion. I did not respond to you because I am jaded, I did so because I hope you will be more cautious in how you express things when they concern subjects that can be corrosive to our society. Today its "glass was more important than gold", tomorrow its the world is flat or we are all the inbred decedents of a 400 year old man named noah. Its fine to have an opinion, speak what you feel, but state it as such.

[@willyboy6126]

Fascinating...The ancient Egyptians certainly had skilled artists and craftspeople! For the stunning gold mask, I always wondered why there are pieces of the the blue opaque glass missing? Surely if the tomb hadn't been disturbed, the pieces should have all been there and could have been restored to the mask....

[@ArrozMisto]

Would love a showcase on how glass was shaped and cast by the Ancient Egyptians.

[@Tseringlhatso]

More please!

[@mikegibson6971]

The genius of Black civilizations can no longer be hidden What was hidden has come to light A people so advanced Knew what color to exhibit what they looked like in their sacred burial sites

[@SongOfSongsOneTwelve]

FASCINATING. A classic in the making. Excellent

[@bikinibro]

yo. i always thought that mask was painted. You're telling me all of those small stripes are actually glass? that's crazy.

[@JaneOnTheJourney]

Woaaah

[@trishexploring1508]

I've always thought all of that was paint too! I never realized they had started to master glass! And glass with the colors! And all that secret detail!!! Amazing!!!

[@KK-pq6lu]

If they were that advanced in working glass, they may have had optical lenses….perhaps used for surveying or laying lines for building.

[@sarah-jaynemcdonald2594]

@@KK-pq6lu and telescopes.

[@sarah-jaynemcdonald2594]

@Real Aiglon 16th century at earliest....that we know of! Except there are depictions on temples in India of people blatently using telescopes hundreds of years earlier than the 16th century (at least). And I'd hardly call the ancient Egyptians work 'trinkets'! Some we can't even reproduce today. Like the translucent and dolerite vases for example.

[@abacus749]

Beautiful.Thank you.

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Thank you for watching!

[@simonstergaard]

This is amazing. I did not know this. Please do more shorts on ancient glass. There must be more glass out there to tell a story.

[@ericfleming2842]

The ability to make glass, and stained glass no less, was cutting edge technology back then. On the scythe, the serrations were made by “grozing” the edges of the glass creating the serrated edge. I knew there was glass in the tomb, but had no idea that much and with such intricate artistry.

[@bogtrottername7001]

Grozing ? I own several inset sickle blades from Egypt and Europe -- they are made by knapping -- glass was shaped and sharpened the same way.

[@ericfleming2842]

@Bog Trotter Name. I recognized the breakage pattern on the scythe as something I’ve done when I was “grozing” some of my projects. But basically, grozing is done when you cut a piece a little too big. Too big for the grinder but too small for the cutter. So you use the tip of your pliers and groze the piece to size. Depending on the angle of the pliers, a serrated edge is easily made. However, I’m working with standard thickness stained glass. They said the scythe was ceremonial without any dimensions. But It looked pretty close to what I’m used to working with.

[@impunitythebagpuss]

Amazing what is still being discovered ! Beautiful video!

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Many thanks!

[@evillyn7895]

What exceptional artistry! This was an informative and interesting video, is there going to be a part 2?

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Thank you! We are working through all possibilities moving forward!

[@tourdegadetheskankslayer1065]

part 2 please!

[@dmd5645]

Loved this video!. Thank you!. My Mom and Dad visited Corning Glassworks on their honeymoon in 1967. I still have the book that Corning gave out as a "book virtual tour"-all the visitors are wearing 60's clothing. So cool. Again, can't wait to see more!!

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for watching!

[@timmy13duffy]

just stunning!!! love this - thank you

[@TheAdoringFan7]

Astonishing.. great presentation!

[@roorman]

Amazing

[@malvinderkaur541]

mesmerizing brilliant blue shades hold a variety of meaning in middle eastern cultures... Turkish /Iranian blue to ward off bad eye... and then somebody steals my earrings of blue and gold..

[@trishexploring1508]

WOW!!! Thank you so much for this video!!! Amazing!!!

[@IHateThisHandleSystem]

I have seen most of these images many times and I always mistakenly believed the blue (glass) parts were made of Lapis Lazuli. I'm surprised that in my 30 years of studying ancient Egypt I never learned the truth.

[@ambc8970]

Glass??? Woooeee. I always thought that they where semi precious stones

[@genericalfishtycoon3853]

Knowing we've been making such beautiful works of art over the all these years as a species really brings a tear to my eye.

[@getluvs1c]

Thanks so much!!! Looking forward to more!!!

[@yadercalero1951]

Ancient egyptian craftsmanship never seize to amaze.

[@simonac688.]

Just Mind Blowing Art...❤️

[@adimentsu]

Usually roman glass is talked about in antiquity but the Egyptian glasses are amazing and deserve academic interest too.

[@oldgiapetto]

Fascinating!! thanks

[@george1la]

How did they do that especially those long bent pieces. The skill to bend that long a piece that much is something. I have bent a lot of glass and this is extraordinary especially that long ago. What skill.

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Insane isn't it?

[@markovichglass]

@@corningmuseumofglass mind blowing

[@trespire]

Revealing the intricate details and the skill and effort in making these works, makes a human conection through time to the craftsman. It almost feels like they are still present with us today.

[@davidcaldecoat7414]

totally beautiful if is truely amazing what you can see under ultraviolet light

[@NewNormac]

I would say that even the ancient’s love their blue glass. Throughout time cobalt has captured the eyes and hearts of many. ~Smile oN

[@boristherock8279]

That was so interesting ...more please!

[@dougalexander7204]

Beautiful treasures.

[@jcs3330]

Just fascinating to think that it was the first light that these objects saw for 3000 years on the opening of the tomb.And also, just the magnificence of the craftsmanship from such a long time ago, is just mind blowing!.

[@mgichndz]

Interesting fun facts on how much glass was valued then!

[@jimschiltz5343]

Excellent video

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Thank you very much!

[@EinSwitzer]

Perfectly done

[@dfunckt]

I visited the Corning Museum of Glass once and one day is not enough. It's a treasure house.

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Love to hear that! Thank you!

[@ssherrierable]

How did that couch cushion under the arm have a Louis Vuitton design pattern on it?! Mind blown…

[@markovichglass]

Then it would state, LV, stole their design from Egyptians...... "Simpsons did it first" :-) Egyptians did it first hahaha

[@ashiinsane90]

Thats because they stole everything from Egypt in 1800s and burned all evidence.. Most of the things french claim they invented were stolen from Egypt including make up and scientific achievements.

[@dcallan812]

beautiful, even now. But new they would look spectacular. ❤❤ great video 2x👍

[@vaigaleduers4039]

Fascinating!

[@VASABOY]

Thank you 🙏🏽

[@michaelvaladez6570]

I have always been fascinated by King Tut. The detail in every item the symbolism pertaining to each item .Amazing. Never knew about the usage of glass in the tomb. Incredible.!!!

[@robertjones1730]

would it be pronounced King "toot" for short? 🙂

[@molybdomancer195]

If you really like ancient Egypt you’d know that a person’s name has deep significance and it’s highly disrespectful to shorten it

[@hawkeye1370]

Very interesting thanks.

[@screwthecabal6453]

Immaculate!!!!

[@kev3d]

Wonderful things!

[@itsnot_stupid_ifitworks]

Excellent video @SacredGeometryDecoded

[@alanatolstad4824]

W-O-W!

[@treering8228]

That was mesmerizing to watch!

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Thank you!

[@cyphermote6857]

Thank you for bringing this little known ability of a civilisation that never ceases to amaze. As experts, would you guys be able to produce a video of the level of glass manufacturing technology required to produce these type of artifacts? While any civilisation that could build structures like the great pyramid and the precision boxes of Saqqara can certainly can do this, the intricate level of detail that requires microscopic inspection today to reveal details just seem a little bit insane. Glass aficionados can spend hours analysing the possibilities. Thank you for an excellent video !

[@doug8515]

Built with pounding stones and copper chesiels no less! Those black boxes at Saqqara for example couldn't be made today with modern stone working tools, and to mine the material, move it hundreds of kilometeres and lift them under ground in their small areas underground, in the dark...there's more going on here than we know.

[@crisprtalk6963]

Excellent.

[@LetsMars]

The Egyptians were obsessed with preservation. Lucky us!

[@stenchtrench9554]

Beautiful video. Reminds me of the older documentaries we were shown in school. Great voice, wonderful photography, and interesting fun information.

[@joette5333]

I thought most of the glass was stone work! I am shocked ! THANKS !

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Thank you for watching!

[@InspiredFortunes]

This is just insane, they must have been taught how to build by an even older civilization we do not know about

[@Alloneword-cp2xw]

lolllll Yeah, must be.

[@molybdomancer195]

Why? Someone had to be first to do things so why couldn’t it be them?

[@universemadeofcreativity5820]

So that explains why so many of those colorful details still hold up for so long even if they're no longer the colorful as they used to be but at their prime my goodness ancient is one of the few ancient civilizations where we can see the colorful world around them or we can at least imagine to a capacity for a long time it was not just white and gold and black and brown creams I mean obviously some red and blue was seen but the Egyptians really loved color the ancient world actually loved color in fact some of the most probably worlds were known techniques that spread it continued around the world may have also came from Egypt honestly and I'm sure many people from many ancient societies have recreated it and figured it out on their own or combination of other civilizations and curiosity of how people do their trade techniques or did not repeat them and kept themselves because think about it was a trade technique you don't want to necessarily make your competition know how you do it so it makes sense that only handful societies may not always have the same opulence of their own techniques and their treasure survive throughout the ages like the Egyptian stuff dead but not everyone did glass work like that in fact the only time you really see any golden standard and I don't mean the gold itself in the sarcophagus by mean like we don't see opulent work of glass being so carefully done like this since possibly modern times and even then I think in many ways we've also really simplified our techniques the point where they don't hold the same value due to mass projection and I'm not saying glasses that are made in math production can't be high quality and beautiful and are a great deal of work to do sometimes you need people even if they have machinery to do it to make sure everything's done carefully and just right but I mean even less than a few hundred years ago I mean less than a hundred years ago if you look around the Edwardian era the Victorian era share some of it looks like that old fashioned kind of boring kind of dull depending on who might like it I actually really do love Victorian and worrying glass works but if you were to go beyond just the ceramics and the teapots it might come to things are more glass like nature and that's a loan are very high quality techniques we just don't see always in modern days but times are always changing is that if you were to look at the Edwardian glasses like drinking cups wine pictures even just high quality upper crust if you can call it that glassware or non- drinking glassware ceremonial. Decorative you just don't really see that all the time in modern times define ornate detailing and this was using glassware that's not necessary all colored in fact most of them were either very colorful but not like this or they were colorful but they were one solid color but to be fair this was also during a time what anything Egyptian was considered exotic and unfably beautiful and it is still that holds up need to stay easily but the fact that all those small fine details survive so well even if some of them are so hard to see the naked eye maybe impossible unless you figured out a technique to understand some of the vague prints you're seeing with some help with obviously glasses or magnifying glass the very least good quality see here we go again glass is not something tender estimate it holds up but that explains why so many of those we've been details and the coloring holds up well I always kept wondering why the sarcophagus and many of its ornamentation and decorative objects and purely possibly use by the boy king looks so well preserved besides that they work well preserved there are other things not just from his team in the rear view were either hidden away or luckily we're not destroyed by looters by the ancient times or looters by the modern times as well pieces that did survive I always wonder why they meant to retain their color were so many other objects either turn white or they were discussed so badly that it makes you even wonder what do they originally look like if you don't know what color theory very well or at least chemical color theory and many other things but into what why is their stuff made it to stay so pristine even and under not the best circumstances that made sense that they may not always be the same as the original look like even with them little to where are those objects down where they could get broken by accident or on purpose depending on if it's ceremonial objects

[@margo3367]

He was well-loved by someone who had power; that’s what I was thinking watching this.

[@molybdomancer195]

He was the pharaoh. He had the power of being a god-king

[@newkkl]

Fascinating video! I hope you will tell us more about ancient glass, Egyptian and otherwise -it’s fascinating.

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Thank you! More to Come!

[@Snowfox23]

Amazing 🙌

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Thank you 🙌

[@kepler240]

Very interesting

[@michaelvette7659]

Wow! a fact not known to me. These people, this culture was pushing the state of the art in so many fields.

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

I wanted to be an Egyptologist but my father crushed my dreams, make sure to be a good parent, it's important.

[@allendean9807]

Gold is incredible…. 3 THOUSAND years later, his mask still looks stunning…. I was lucky enough to see this as a kid, when it toured America… my kids got to see the second tour, which was equally killer…

[@shable1436]

Unreal how much craftsmanship went into this 3500 years ago, but the tomb wasn't organized, just stuff thrown in

[@markovichglass]

Tut transcended, and didn't have time to clean up before transcending

[@zombieat]

3300* years ago.

[@asherperkinsmusic2767]

wow!!

[@basespeaker1]

very very interesting thank you very much!!

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@pleclerc1]

Seems no one ever mentions that since Tutankhamun was so young, many of the objects found in his tomb were not his nor meant to be his, even the golden mask shows signs of being modified when you see the back side of it.

[@77936fief]

who are you and why do you have such a soothing voice?

[@snapon666]

How did they obtain the temperatures required to produce glass ?

[@corningmuseumofglass]

Hi! They would've used wood fueled furnaces to achieve the temps required to create these glass works. While we can't say for sure we know glassblowing didn't occur for another 1300 years or so, so we believe these pieces to be similar to what cast and molded pieces are today. Here is an example of a Roman wood fired furnace that may have been similar: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJKydaiZmsali5o

[@snapon666]

@@corningmuseumofglass Thanks for the info

[@oneshotme]

Only the beginning so why not show us to the end then??? Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@deborahgrantham7387]

The ancients were intelligent innovative productive people.

[@willywokeup9112]

How did they melt the gold so perfectly?

[@kyrab7914]

See, I wish museums had this instead of just "scarab from King tut's tomb *metal, jewels, glass*"

[@ReelTalkTeleVision]

They’ll lie and say he was YT… when in essence ALL BLACK!

[@IKnowYouDidnt]

Amazing what can be accomplished with a whip and the threat of death.... The Egyptian whip masters were incredibly skilled in their craft... True artists.

[@doug8515]

With pounding stones and copper chiesels no less! This skill was by a much earlier culture, there's more going on here than we know...

[@IKnowYouDidnt]

@@doug8515 The accomplishments of the ancients are amazing. We give them much less credit than they're due.. I can't even imagine what it took to build the Panama Canal in just 10 years with TNT and steam shovels... But, given 1000's of years, with overseers much more brutal than Teddy Rosevelt?... People of that age just had different values.. The lives of the working class had very little value, if any value at all, to the thinking class... much less the elite. For all intents and purposes those people only had one job to do and, were absolute slaves to that task. I don't doubt we're looking at many thousands of years of progress and, the Sphinx is much older than proposed... But, having watched this: watch?v=j9w-i5oZqaQ it shed some light on how much more advanced they were than we're led to believe.

[@suzannemccoy8412]

That is pretty cool us

[@CKing-388]

The headrest looks like what is used in embalming today.

[@ssherrierable]

When they took all his burial artifacts they took him out of his afterlife as well. Who knows what dark part of limbo he is lost in now forever. It’s a shame they were allowed to remove his things.

[@clarkpalace]

When did u escape from the woowoo house. Nice sentiments, but.

[@molybdomancer195]

To the ancient Egyptians people remembering you and saying your name gave you life in the afterlife. Tutankhamen is arguably the most famous pharaoh so in their belief system he’s doing pretty well. Better than pharaohs like Horemheb, Ahmose and Merneptah to name three few people will have heard of.

[@clarkpalace]

@@molybdomancer195 take that steven sherrier! Great point. Here we are saying king tut, king tut forever! And how many buildings have a tut inspired ornament, decoration, embellishment. Tut lives!

[@anwerabdallah569]

i can see the effect of time on those objects.

[@davidfromamerica1871]

There is glass scattered all over the desert. A large meteor hit and turned the sand to glass.

[@jackjack3358]

I would have guess that all those blue glasses were lapus lazuli but seems like they were short on that :D

[@jjano2320]

This was from one tomb that escaped being pilfered.

[@robertjones1730]

The video is 7:38 but to really appreciate it you need to pause the video and stare it it closely, there are so many ridiculously small pieces of different colored glass that went into those earrings, some had to be smaller than the head of a needle. They had to have known about magnifying glasses then

[@ashiinsane90]

Scientists discovered that pyramids have the PI aka golden ratio in them.. Meaning they understood or even invented the metric system.. And Iron artifacts under the pyramids.. Clearly the Egyptians were far superior in advancement than we give them credit for.

[@robertjones1730]

@@ashiinsane90 well, I love math and all but finding the golden ratio when you are looking for it doesn't necessarily mean they intended it. There are many examples of "found" golden ratios when it's fairly close to the actual number. Kind of like confirmation bias but I agree, the Egyptians were technologically far more superior than we give them credit for and I'll go a step further and say that it's obvious that a lot of the sculptures and architecture was actually "legacy work" that the Egyptians were just born into. ie, they were potentially there thousands of years before the Egyptians took credit for them. Just like the USA, we say we "discovered" it but the natives were already here, and they likely were not the first either

[@ashiinsane90]

@@robertjones1730 No there is no such thing as coincidence, The Egyptians knew about the metric system, the pyramids would not have been built if they did not use it on purpose, everything is precise to the centimeter, its not by chance.. "Egyptians didnt not built the statues" is nothing but racism or trolling and doesn't make any sense.. If you claim it does then show me proof that Egyptians didnt built these statues because there are hundreds of evidence that says otherwise..

[@molybdomancer195]

@@ashiinsane90 pi is approximately 3.1416 and the golden ratio is approximately 1.618 so they aren’t the same thing

[@molybdomancer195]

@@ashiinsane90 we have ancient Egyptian measuring sticks so we know their measuring system and it wasn’t the metric one.

[@jinchovelazquez2605]

quite crazy that these Head Rest, which are also used as pillows, and seats..are the same design as the ancient Aboriginals, and as modern as the last non modernized tribes in africa(hunter gather tribes, groups) and the natives of the americas. all im saying is thats no mere coincidence

[@HamCubes]

Were the turquoise-colored and lapis-colored glass pieces shown in the first few minutes headdresses or _headdress stands_ ( by which I mean something used to both display an elaborate hat or wig and to keep such from wrinkling or tangling)?

[@marcoperoni4735]

@BrightInsight got to be a video here about the glass.

[@prezzie1]

2:00 the size of a piece of paper? What size paper? it could be the size of a stamp or the size of a newspaper? But what a stunningly beautiful piece of glass.

[@yardner1963]

The words that are shown on the screen covered far too much of the objects. The lapis lazuli head rest is exquisite.

[@donnaross5362]

Is a good likeness of the 12 year old..the 18 year old had a big dimple..was very handsome..