The Pharaoh Tutankhamun's Personal Photographer: Harry Burton

In 1913 Theodore Davis expressed his opinion that  the "valley had been exhausted" (the Valley of the Kings) unfortunately  he was only two meters away from discovering the entrance to KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun

In 1914, Lord Carnarvon applied for, and received a license to dig in the Valley of the Kings. The search for the tomb of Tutankhamun was on,  unfortunately the first World War interrupted the search. Howard Carter spent the war years working for the British Government as a diplomatic courier and translator, until 1917 when  together with a large workforce they enthusiastically resumed their search for Tutankhamun's tomb.  The search had exhausted over 5 years of hard work with no promise of a discovery  of Tutankhamun’s elusive resting place. As hope faded after five years of futile work,  Lord Carnarvon decided he wasn't prepared to search any further when on 4 November 1922  the most amazing day in the history of archaeology occurred, the young water boy working for Howard Carter accidentally stumbled on a stone, he immediately ran to Howard Carter to tell him, and Howard immediately instructed the workers to dig this area, and to their jubilation they had discovered the first step that lead down into the tomb of Tutankhamun. Harry Burton photographed the young water boy wearing one of the pectorals of Tutankhamun, and this photograph discreetly reminds us that Tutankhamun was only a boy of nine when he became pharaoh.

 

Carter realized that "the first and pressing need was for photography, as he would not disturb the contents of the tomb until a complete photographic record was made. In 1914, Harry Burton was hired as a member of the Graphic Section, of the Metropolitan Museum,  initially he was to photograph tomb interiors and later to record the work of the Metropolitan Museum’s excavation team, he rapidly gained a reputation as the finest archaeological photographer of his time. 

Howard Carter approached the Metropolitan museum and asked if he could have the services of their photographer Harry Burton, and so began Burtons work for Howard Carter and the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, he  recorded over 1,400 images  his first photographs were taken on 27 November 1922,  his photographs captured Tutankhamun's tomb within the first few days of the discovery, and his iconic black and white images have electrified Egypt around the  world with the amazing discovery of the only intact tomb that has ever been found with all the goods necessary for the pharaohs afterlife

Burton spent nearly ten years photographing Tutankhamun's tomb and its artifacts', his photographs were atmospheric as well as plain scientific records, in this photograph you can almost feel yourself peering into the tomb with Howard Carter, when Lord Carnarvon asked him can you see anything? and Howard carter expressed yes,  wonderful things !

For lighting inside the tomb Burton used the ancient Egyptian light effect of sunlight reflected into the tomb by mirrors, sometimes over a distance of 100 feet, the light caught by reflectors that were kept constantly in motion to disperse the light evenly on the subject.

Burton learned to operate a motion picture camera, that was on loan from  Samuel Goldwyn Productions, with this camera he recorded the opening of Tutankhamun sarcophagus in February 1924, and to show objects as they were being removed from the tomb. On 29th October 1925

The artifact photographed by Harry Burton and recorded as 317 is a small gilded box which contained two of Tutankhamun and Anaksanamun's stillborn daughters,  the smaller child died around the 6th month of pregnancy while the larger child presumably died shortly after birth. 

Howard Carter wrote to the Metropolitan Museum to thank them for the services of Harry Burton, who had completed his work 'in a splendid and admirable manner, in fact I do not know how to praise his work sufficiently. He had a colossal task which he carried out to the end in the most efficient manner possible, and I should like to convey through you my most sincere gratitude to your trustees and Director his good aid'

From 1937 Burton's health began to decline. He died of diabetes in Egypt on 27 June 1940, aged 60. He was buried in the American cemetery in Asyut.