The Cursed Trumpets of Tutankhamun
Résumé
Among the “wonderful things” discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun were two trumpets, the only ones conveyed to us from Egyptian antiquity. They were carefully brought to the Cairo Egyptian Museum and displayed with the rest of the treasure. The instantaneous fame of the boy-king is well-known, as the spread of the myth of the Curse of the Pharaohs, that seemed to strike anyone that had participated in the archaeological desecration of the tomb. The two trumpets had a peculiar story in this narrative: after some unfortunate material damage and subsequent restorations, they were used in a performance for the BBC in 1939, to record what sounds could have graced the Pharaonic ears. Both were thus broadcast worldwide; but their performance had unforeseen impact in popular culture. Some months later, the World War II had stroke, and people began to think that the prophetic blowing of the trumpet had been instrumental in triggering the disaster. From this point onward, the story repeated itself at various occasions during the major troubles that Egypt faced aftermath, from the Six Days War up to the 2011 revolution. The trumpets of Tutankhamun are a fascinating case of urban legend crystallisation. The beliefs of an antic curse focused around those two musical instruments, who had to be activated by the performance to unleash their terrible powers is a striking illustration of the symbolic impact of these museum artefacts and their performance on popular imagination, here further increased by the cultural significance of Pharaonic culture in modern Egypt national representation.
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