In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

MUMMIES 151
the past had reached the present in spite of the weight of time and the
erosion of so many years. (xxiii)
Carter's emotion is not about beauty or historical knowledge. What
drives his research is a desire parallel and complementary to the aspirations
of those who actively seek lethal danger in order to make death a
part of their lives. [see Airplanes, Boxing, Bullfighting, Endurance, Hunger
Artists, Mountaineering, Immanence = Transcendence (Death)]
Whereas athletes and aviators push their bodies to the point where life
encounters death, the archaeologist-bearing an odd resemblance to the
gramophone in this respect-makes it possible, through his slow and
meticulous work, for the life of the past to cross the boundary of death
and "re-enter the world of reality and history ... in spite of the weight
of time and the erosion of so many years." The face of the pharaoh
Tutankhamen is the face of the past come alive and, at the same time,
the face of an individual's death made present. [see Individuality vs.
Collectivity] Carter thus titles two important sections of his book-the
king's biography and the photographs of his skull-with a single word:
the pharaoh's name (11, 112). For it is Carter's ultimate aim to provide
an encounter with "Tutankhamen" himself.
The unwrapping of Tutankhamen's body is but the peak of a broad
wave of contemporary "Egyptomania." What fascinates Howard Carter's
readers more than anything else-the capacity of a person to anticipate
and confront his or her own death [see Cremation]-is now being
identified, with increasing clarity, as the constitutive element of ancient
Egyptian culture. But this insight cannot fully explain why Egyptomania
is turning into "Tutmania" (El Mallakh and Brackmann, 120f£.). The
fashion industry adopts the styles, colors, and ornaments of the clothes
found in Tutankhamen's tomb. Tutankhamen umbrellas and Tutankhamen
walking sticks are sold everywhere. The Hotel Pennsylvania in
New York City advertises the sound of Vincente Lopez's popular band
as "Tut-music," and hundreds of new products bearing "Tutankhamen"
brand names are submitted to the U.S. Patent Office. Though the face of
the pharaoh makes present the otherness of an individual death, such
products and brand names rely on the appeal of ancient Egypt's cultural
otherness amid modern everyday life (Clifford, 1-17). [see Center vs.
Periphery] This is why a review article by Walter Benjamin condemns,
with uncharacteristically strong irony, a tourist guide that views ancient