Was This Artifact From King Tut’s Tomb? It’s for Sale Anyway.
- Apollo Auctions
- Jul 25
- 2 min read
Alex Marshall
July 25, 2025, 6:21 a.m. ET
A London auction house says there is “no documented evidence” that an intricately carved grasshopper is from the boy king’s tomb. Its estimated price is up to $675,000.
After discovering King Tutankhamen’s tomb, the British archaeologist Howard Carter spent years cataloging the thousands of priceless artifacts inside, including life-size statues of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, glittering thrones, and the boy king’s funeral mask.
He also pilfered some for himself.
Now, one object that Egyptologists have for decades said that Carter likely stole is to be auctioned — despite some experts saying the sale should not occur.
On Sunday, Apollo Art Auctions, a small auction house in London, is to sell the so-called Guennol Grasshopper. The intricately carved ivory and wood container is in the shape of the noisy insect, with wings that swing outward to reveal a hole to store perfume.
The grasshopper, which the auction house says in promotional material is “from the age of Tutankhamen,” has an estimated price of up to 500,000 pounds, or about $675,000. The auction listing says the item previously traded hands for $1.2 million.
Apollo Art Auctions said in an emailed statement that there was “no documented evidence” that the vessel came from the pharoah’s tomb. “The item does not appear on any official excavation inventories,” the statement said.
Still, for some Egyptologists there is little doubt about its origins. Christian Loeben, of the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, Germany, who has written about Carter’s career, said in an interview that he was “quite convinced” that the grasshopper could only have come from the tomb....
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