Jinxes & Curses

Egyptian archaeologists, who normally scour the desert in search of treasures of the past, have discovered that one of the greatest caches of antiquities may well be in the basement of the Egyptian Museum. For the last century, artifacts have been stored away in crates there and forgotten, often allowed to disintegrate in the dank, dusty cavern.Forgotten until now. The recent theft and recovery of three statues from the basement have prompted antiquity officials in Egypt to redouble an effort already under way to complete the firstcomprehensive inventory of artifacts in the basement."For the last 100 years, curators sat down to drink tea, but they did not do their jobs," said Zahi Hawass, the general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

"How many artifacts are in the basement? It was awful." Step through a small, Hobbit-sized door, down a steep flight of stairs and through a locked gate. The basement is a maze of arched passageways and bare light bulbs hanging from decaying wires. It is packed with wooden crates, hundreds of them, sometimes piled floor to ceiling. Cobwebs cling to ancient pottery and tablets engraved with hieroglyphics. Six hundred coffins and 170 mummies have been found so far. No one knows what may have been stolen over the years. Last year, officials reported that 38 golden bracelets fromRoman times had vanished from the basement, apparently six years earlier. "It is an accumulation of 100 years of neglect," said Dr. Ali Radwan, a professor of Egyptology at Cairo University who took a recent tour of the basement. "It is not appropriate for a country like Egypt to have such miserable storage for its history." The Egyptian Museum is a 104-year-old repository of the some the world's most famous antiquities. Inside, there are the mummified remains of pharaohs, like Ramses II, who died in 1212 B.C. There are the treasures of the young Pharaoh Tutankhamen, the golden chariot and the golden mask. Built and designed by the French, the two-story building in central Tahrir Square has changed little over the decades. It remains crowded with an estimated 120,000 items, most of which have also neverbeen prope......

A "cursed" black diamond, which has seen three former owners commit suicide, is to go on display in the UK for the first time.The Black Orlov, also known as The Eye of Brahma, was said to have been removed from a Hindu idol in India. This sacrilege allegedly led future owners of the precious stone to suffer violent deaths. The 67.5-carat gem will go on show at the Natural History Museum's Diamonds exhibition from Wednesday. The diamond's history is unclear, but legend tells of a monk removing theoriginal rough 195-carat diamond from the eye of the Idol of Brahma at a shrine near Pondicherry.

In 1947, Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov and Princess Leonila Galitsine-Bariatinsky - both said to be former owners of the Black Orlov - leapt to their deaths in apparent suicides. Fifteen years earlier, JW Paris, the diamond dealer who imported the stone to the USA, had jumped to his death from one of New York's tallest buildings shortly after concluding the sale of the jewel.In an attempt to break the curse, the diamond was re-cut into three separate gems and has since been owned by a succession of private owners, all of whom seem to have escaped the curse."In the middle of the 20th Century, the mediachristened it the 'Evil Death Gem' but I've never felt nervous about owning the Black Orlov," said Dennis Petimezas, the current owner."I've spent the past year trying to discover everything I can about the stone's melodramatic history and I'm pretty confident that the curse is broken."Alan Hart, exhibition curator said: "The intriguing legend of the Black Orlov highlights the powerful way that diamonds have captured human imagination for thousands of years."This jewel's beauty and apparent infamy make it a fitting addition to the world's biggest diamond exhibition."Article Source

A "cursed" black diamond, which has seen three former owners commit suicide, is to go on display in the UK for the first time. The Black Orlov, also known as The Eye of Brahma, was said to have been removed from a Hindu idol in India. This sacrilege allegedly led future owners of the precious stone to suffer violent deaths. The 67.5-carat gem will go on show at the Natural History Museum's Diamonds exhibition from Wednesday. The diamond's history is unclear, but legend tells of a monk removing the original rough195-carat diamond from the eye of the Idol of Brahma at a shrine near Pondicherry.

In 1947, Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov and Princess Leonila Galitsine-Bariatinsky - both said to be former owners of the Black Orlov - leapt to their deaths in apparent suicides. Fifteen years earlier, JW Paris, the diamond dealer who imported the stone to the USA, had jumped to his death from one of New York's tallest buildings shortly after concluding the sale of the jewel. In an attempt to break the curse, the diamond was re-cut into three separate gems and has since been owned by a succession of private owners, all of whom seem to have escaped the curse."In the middle of the 20th Century, the media christened it the 'Evil Death Gem' but I've never felt nervous about owning the Black Orlov," said Dennis Petimezas, the current owner. "I've spent the past year trying to discover everything I can about the stone's melodramatic history and I'm pretty confident that the curse is broken."

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Filming for a major BBC series in Egypt has been hit, allegedly, by the 'Curse of the Pharoahs'. Nonsense, says a Midland descendant of the tomb-openers. Richard Edmonds meets John Carter.When a member of your family happens to be the man who opened the fabulous tomb of Tutankhamun, it is obvious that the love of antiques is in your blood.John Carter, a well-known dealer in the Black Country, is a descendant on his grandfather's side of the world famous Egyptologist, Howard Carter. He claims to have what he calls the "Carter Hunch". He says that if he could sell it canned and labelled, he would be a billionaire. It has to besaid that the Carter Hunch is less well known than the curse associated with the 1923 Carter expedition. The legend began when Lord Carnarvon, who funded Carter's adventure, died from an infected mosquito bite on his cheek.

Over the next few years another ten people associated with the expedition perished.The "curse" has been repeatedly debunked by experts who point out that the average age of those who died was 70."Howard Carter died peacefully after a long and eventful life," says John. "So much for curses."But the world loves a good myth and the curse endures. It's back in the news to explain a catalogue of horrors in filming the BBC's new series, Egypt, to be screened soon.Illness, bad weather and sandstorms have pushed the six-hour series way over budget. No-onehas died but the Press have eagerly referred to the old curse.John Carter meanwhile dismisses the legend as pure nonsense and gives thanks for his blessing - the Carter Hunch."It's just a feeling you get, a kind of hunch. It's a bit like a water diviner feeling his twigs twitching. There's a stream at the bottom of my garden, and somehow things just keep turning up."Recently I found some 17th Century slipware pottery made in Stourport, and I've also come across keys, coins and Oriental porcelain."He is an auctioneer based in Cleobury Mortimer who holds a two-monthly sale at Blakedown Parish Rooms for Walton and Hipkiss."Obviously I visit clients who have antiques that they wish to dispose of. As you give a valuation of glass, porcelain, furniture, paintings or whatever, youoccasio......