Blessed LEGO Tutankhamun arrives at Chau Chak Wing Museum

Free of curses but full of bricks, USyd’s newest LEGO model is a sight to see.

Image credit: Chau Chak Wing Museum and The Brickman

Fortunately for anyone who fears that death comes on swift wings to those who disturb the pieces of the LEGO king, Dr Craig Barker, Head of Public Engagement at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, is categorical: “There is no curse on LEGO Tutankhamun.”

LEGO Tutankhamun arrived on campus this week, fresh from the plastic sands of LEGO Certified Professional Ryan ‘The Brickman’ McNaught’s Melbourne workshop. The latest LEGO display to be commissioned by the Chau Chak Wing Museum, LEGO Tutankhamun is a life-size model of the second coffin of the pharaoh, whose Egyptian tomb was discovered 100 years ago today in the most famous archaeological find of the 20th century.

The ‘Tutmania’ which followed the tomb’s discovery sensationalised the archaeological significance of the find and overshadowed many other aspects of Egyptian culture. Barker plans to use the model of the famous discovery in children’s workshops over the school holidays to explore more meaningful questions beyond ‘King Tut’ and Egyptian gold, and examine the colonial implications of the find and its impact on Egypt today.

It took McNaught’s (creator of the Museum’s previous LEGO models and now host of hit series LEGO Masters) team over 220 hours to assemble the model’s 14,524 LEGO bricks, which will be on display at the Chau Chak Wing Museum until the end of January. The model features brick-built hieroglyphs, nemes, crook and flail, in keeping with its real-life counterpart.

Sparked by a social media post from McNaught, Barker reached out earlier this year with the idea of marking the centenary of the tomb’s discovery in LEGO form. Models of the Valley of the Kings or Tutankhamun’s famous death mask were also considered before the coffin was selected.

The display is the fourth historical LEGO model to come to the University, following LEGO Colosseum, LEGO Acropolis, and the now-permanently displayed (LEGO) pièce de résistance, LEGO Pompeii. While a fifth model is not yet on the horizon, perhaps a LEGO Stonehenge or LEGO Paphos Theatre (Barker’s personal choice) could one day grace campus. Such a legacy would surely be a blessing of LEGO Tutankhamun.

LEGO Tutankhamun is on display for free at the Chau Chak Wing Museum until 31 January 2023.