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The exhibit sprawls through more than a dozen rooms, with displays scattered no doubt to give the throngs some elbow room as they slowly gape and listen and read. Music plays that has a slow and stately feel, creating an air of mystery. Some rooms are well lit, others dimly. The room with the large stone face of a king is flanked by pillars. Another hall is like a tunnel with words overhead anticipating the coming of a new king, as you leave sections devoted to Tut's predecessors and come upon a dramatic statue of Tut, followed by a room of many artifacts, another room with just the remarkably detailed coffinette that held Tut's liver, then a dark room of gleaming glass containers, all bearing treasures from Tomb 62, the Valley of the Kings.

Some parts of the tomb had been vandalized, but the thieves didn't find the innermost burial chambers, a sign explains. The find was glorious. Inside a stone sarcophagus "were three nested golden coffins and the mummy of the king whose face was covered by a golden death mask. Hundreds of amulets and pieces of jewelry were placed between the layers of wrapping to magically protect Tutankhamun.On his body lay a golden dagger, pectorals and other items." There was also a "golden diadem he may have worn in life, and a flexible protective cobra."

In this room, the 14th in the exhibit if you count the long tunnel-like hall, are a host of Tut's treasures. A golden fan depicting an ostrich hunt. A translucent canopic jar lid bearing Tut's likeness. A golden chest that once contained a tiny statue ... all that remains are its tiny footprints, says a sign. An array of figurines. Body decorations include an intricate scarab of gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian and turquoise. A crook and flail. A large carved wooden shield, decorated with gold, of course. A strange staff whose curved top is a figure of a backward bending "Nubian."

All from so long ago. From a time when most of the world knew little of such craftsmanship or accomplishment. It's even more impressive when you realize that many such treasures have been lost ... and others from Tut's tomb remain behind in Egypt. The "crown jewel" of the collection, his golden death mask, didn't tour this time, but in one way that's good: It won't distract from the glory of otherr painstaking creations of artists and artisans whose names have long been forgotten.

In this room, if you see the pectoral scarabs, check out the detail of the gold work on the back and wonder how many hours, or days, of toil and love, or suffering, went into those two creations.