By Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner

The “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” exhibition that drew nearly 4 million visitors during its two-year, four-city U.S. tour, will return to states for a three-city encore tour. The first tour, which broke records at each of the four museums it visited in the U.S. from June 2005 through September 2007, will return from its current London engagement to open at the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) Oct. 3, 2008, followed by visits to two yet to be named museums.

When it opened in Los Angeles in June 2005, it marked the first time in more than 25 years that treasures from King Tut’s tomb were shown in the U.S. The Dallas engagement marks the first time these artifacts will be seen in the Southwest region. The current exhibition includes an extensive array of more than 130 extraordinary artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun and other ancient Egyptian sites. The return of the exhibition to the U.S. will include a selection of artifacts that are new to the exhibit and have never before been seen outside of Egypt.

Since its 2005 opening, exhibit has set records in each city it has visited, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago and Philadelphia. With nearly 1.3 million visitors at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, the exhibition became the most popular museum exhibition in the state’s history.

“The Dallas Museum of Art is one of the Southwest region’s largest art museums and is extremely pleased to be able to share these exceptional works of ancient Egyptian art with the community we serve,” said John R. Lane, The Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art, in a prepared statement.

Northern Trust is the encore tour’s presenting sponsor. Proceeds generated from the world tour are being used to help preserve Egypt’s treasures, including the construction of a new museum in Cairo where antiquities will be housed.

Tickets to the exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art can be reserved at the website.

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