Tag: Coffins

New Photos From The Mummy Chamber Exhibition at Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn Museum have sent us some of the first pictures from their brand new long-term exhibit The Mummy Chamber, an exploration of afterlife beliefs and rituals in ancient Egypt, which as we blogged opened to the public on Wednesday.

Featuring 170 pieces from the museums extensive Egyptian collection, it highlights the elaborate and often strange lengths sometimes gone to in the land of the pharaohs in order to ensure that a deceased individual had the most pleasant and trouble-free experience possible after passing on into the mysterious realm of the dead. That means displays of everything from mummies, coffins and sarcophagi to ritual treasures discovered in burial chambers including statuettes, shabti figurines and books of spells.

Peer Down the Book of the Dead Corridor

Taken at the press preview, the photos show some of the exhibits key artefacts. The first shot is of the Book of the Dead Corridor the section of the exhibit dedicated to highlighting the highly popular practice in ancient Egypt of placing papyrus scrolls in tombs bearing a collection of hymns, spells and instructions believed to be vital in overcoming whatever challenges might be faced on the other side.

Youll notice, laid-out in a long cabinet running the length of the corridor, one of the main attractions at The Mummy Chamber namely a large portion of The Book of the Dead of Sobekmose. Painted onto two sides of a nearly eight-metre long papyrus scroll, and aged well over 3,000 years, this highly impressive example of a version of the Book of the Dead is on display for the very first time. Having originally been acquired by the museum back in 1938, it was only brought out of the archives for vital restoration work two years ago. Other sections of the scroll are still being worked on, and will be added to the exhibition at later dates.

Thothirdes was apparently on a tight budget.

The next picture shows the mummy of Thothirdes, a 26th Dynasty priest at Thebes. One of the aims of The Mummy Chamber is to convey the fact that mummification in ancient Egypt wasnt a practice that was carried out just one way there were techniques of varying quality available, depending on what an ancient Egyptian could afford. The full and most expensive works purification, dehydration, internal organ-storage, cleansing, wrapping and all is outlined in this blog. Thothirdes was apparently on a tight budget.

He had a middle-of-the-road mummification, Edward Bleiberg, the Brooklyn Museums curator of Egyptian, Classical and Ancient Middle Eastern art told The New York Times in a recent interview. This is proven by the fact that his organs were stuffed back into his body rather than stored in costly stone jars. The unsophisticated hieroglyphs on Thothirdes coffin further confirms that this priest was a man of modest means. The handwriting is terrible, Bleiberg added.

A Stunning Sarcophagus

The final picture shows three coffins placed in a row, exemplifying how burial caskets could vary in quality significantly too particularly as building techniques and fashions in decoration changed over the centuries. All made from wood, one is small and simple, the next is larger and much more ornately decorated. The last at the back is the stunning outer sarcophagus of Pa-seba-khai-en-ipet. Dating from around 1075-945 BC, it reflects a major shift in burial practice in the 21st Dynasty, when the Egyptian elites stopped building elaborate tombs and instead transferred the scenes normally painted on tomb walls to the coffin.

Its not visible in the picture, but theres damage to the painted surface on the left side of the casket, which has been left unrepaired. This is intended to reveal how the sarcophagus was made by carpenters pinning smaller pieces of wood together with wooden pegs. Artists then plastered and painted the surface to make it appear smooth.

Got pictures of your own from The Mummy Chamber that youd like to share? Then add them to the Heritage Key Flickr group.

Mummy Chamber Exhibit Now Open at Brooklyn Museum

in New York holds one of the largest and most famous collections of Egyptian material in the world. Today, it opens a brand-new, long-term exhibition gathering together 170 pieces from within its Egyptian collection titled The Mummy Chamber.

Its an exploration of the many complex ancient Egyptian afterlife rituals and beliefs, which were all intended to protect a deceased soul from harm once they passed-on, and ensure a pleasant experience on the other side. It covers everything from mummification to the placing of votive goods in burial chambers.

Organised by the Brooklyn Museums Curator of Egyptian Art Edward Bleiberg, The Mummy Chamber will feature a number of highly unique artefacts, from mummies to coffins, canopic jars and shabti funerary figurines, plus all kinds of stelae, reliefs, gold earrings, amulets, ritual statuettes and mummy boards.

Chief among the ancient Egyptian antiquities on display will be a section of the Book of the Dead of Sobekmose a nearly eight metre-long, 3000-year-old papyrus acquired decades ago but until now never before placed on public display.

Mummies

No Egyptian exhibition relating to the afterlife would be worth its salt without a few good mummies. The Brooklyn Museum has one of the finest selections of embalmed ancient bodies going, and has cherry-picked a few beauties both human and animal for this display. Theyll include the mummy of Pa-seba-khai-en-ipet, the 21st Dynasty Royal Priest and Count of Thebes, the mummy of Hor, a minor 13th Dynasty Egyptian king, and the mummy of the Thothirdes, a 26th Dynasty priest at Thebes.

Several of the Brooklyn Museums mummies have recently undergone intensive scientific testing including CT-scans to try and learn a bit more about them such as their sex, age, cause of death and living habits. For example, the mummy of Hor was for 70 years displayed as the body of a young female, until a CT-scan in 2009 proved it had all the anatomical features of a man! Details of these and other findings will form part of the installation, as will an insight into just how some of the mummies were embalmed.

The most thorough process of mummification as outlined in this blog involved the removal and preservation of internal organs and a long period of dehydrating the cadaver. It was an expensive business, and not always within the means of a deceased ancient Egyptian. Some exhibits in The Mummy Chamber will be dedicated to highlighting other, cheaper processes of mummification.

Coffins and Grave Goods

Equally as important as the mummification of a corpse itself was the container it was then placed within. Another key part of this Brooklyn Museum special exhibition will be a look at various types of sarcophagi, and the history of coffin-making for humans and animals in ancient Egypt.

The outer sarcophagi of Pa-seba-khai-en-ipet, for instance, reflects a major shift in burial practice in the 21st Dynasty, when the Egyptian elites stopped building elaborate tombs and instead transferred the scenes normally painted on tomb walls to the coffin. Hor, contrastingly, was encased in an elaborately decorated cartonnage (a case made from layers of linen or papyrus covered with plaster). It exemplifies the way that the painters of the Third Intermediate Period made use of the rich iconography available to them.

Even a deceased Egyptians internal organs removed during the mummification process were sometimes preserved in elaborate vessels, such as canopic jars or chests. Alongside the various different types of coffins, examples of these will also be displayed, as will various kinds of ritual objects tools intended to help the deceased overcome the various challenges they were expected to face in the afterlife. Shabtis were one popular such grave good small figurines whom it was believed could serve as servants or slaves in the afterlife. Expect to see lots of great examples of these too.

Essential Reading in the Afterlife

One of the most common artefacts found placed in ancient Egyptian tombs is copies of the so-called Book of the Dead the name commonly given to the ancient Egyptian funerary text Spells of Coming (or Going) Forth By Day. It was meant to assist the deceased on the other side by arming them with a collection of hymns, spells and instructions useful for overcoming whatever perils might face them in the afterlife.

The museum acquired The Book of the Dead of Sobekmose in 1937, but this will represents the first time its been on public display. It follows two years of painstaking conservation work.

Most commonly, the Book of the Dead was written on a papyrus scroll. The Book of the Dead of Sobekmose will form one of the centerpieces of The Mummy Chamber, and is a particularly impressive example of such an artefact. Covered with text on both sides as well as various illustrations, it was found buried in the grave of Sobekmose a treasurer for Amenhotep III, in the 18th Dynasty. His name recurs frequently throughout the text, accompanied by the title Gold-worker of Amun.

The Brooklyn Museum acquired The Book of the Dead of Sobekmose in 1937, but this will represent the first time its been made available for general viewing. It follows two years of painstaking conservation work to restore it to its former glory. Only a portion of the scroll has been restored so far, but work remains ongoing, and as other sections are made ready theyll be added to the gallery installation.

Been to The Mummy Chamber exhibition at Brooklyn Museum? Tell us what you thought in the comments field below, and share your photographs in the Heritage Key Flickr group.

Treasures of King Tut – Tutankhamun’s Jewellery and the Love of a Queen

When Howard Carter said he spied wondrous things upon cracking open the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, he wasnt joking. KV62 was filled with probably the most fantastic collection of ancient treasures ever discovered in one place all from beautiful golden coffins, to giant statues, canopic shrines and a golden throne. Tuts own body was literally stuffed with precious jewellery.

In the third instalment of our four-part video series King Tut Revealed filmed by Nico Piazza, and featuring still photography by Sandro Vannini Dr Zahi Hawass, who you can watch in this video revealing the cause of Tuts death and sharing his thoughts on the curse of Tutankhamun(Watch this video by clicking here), tells us about his personal favourites among the many treasures of King Tuts tomb, a large number of which are currently on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The Golden Death Mask and the Coffins

I believe it is something that will never be repeated, says Hawass of his first selection, the golden death mask probably the most famous and iconic of all the artefacts found in Tutankhamuns tomb. No artist in the world will be ever be able to repeat it, he says, as were shown some of Sandro Vanninis wonderfully vivid shots of the radiant, enchanting 11kg likeness of the boy king, which was found laid over his face. It is a masterpiece of art, in my opinion, Hawass adds.

Tuts body was discovered lying inside a large nest of coffins. Seven coffins total were found in the tomb (all except one have been removed) its these that Hawass next selects among his favourite treasures. Each coffin can give you amazing and beautiful art, he says, before pointing out how the engravings upon them dont all necessarily portray Tutankhamun as he really looked some of them show Tut as he perhaps wished he looked (he wasn’t the prettiest of chaps, it must be said). Some of what you discover in the tomb is the idealistic life of what he wanted to be, Hawass explains, it is not really realistic art.

The Golden Throne

The most amazing thing they showed in that statue is the love between the king and the queen.

When Hawass himself visits the Cairo Museum, whats the first artefact he goes to look at? I go to the golden throne, he reveals, another masterpiece. Why? Because, beneath that gruff exterior, Dr Zahis a big old romantic at heart. The most amazing thing they showed in that statue, he explains, a small tear possibly forming in the corner of his eye, is the love between the king and the queen.

The eagle-eyed viewer will observe that, in the detailed raised image set on the back-panel of the golden throne, showing the boy king and his bride Queen Ankhesenamun relaxing in a garden pavilion, both figures are only wearing one sandal. So they both got dressed in a rush that morning, right? Wrong: Theyre wearing one sandal only to show that they are sharing everything, explains Hawass. The love was between them, and this is why when King Tut died, Queen Ankhesenamun was so upset. She put a flower it was discovered on his mummy. Sniff pass the Kleenex!

This winged scarab necklace is one of Dr Hawass' favourite King Tut artefacts. Image Copyright - Sandro Vannini.

The Jewellery

The jewellery is amazing, says Hawass, of his final selection among the treasure of King Tuts tomb. Over 104 individual pieces of jewellery including beads, bracelets, rings, amulets and necklaces were found crammed inside the mummy of Tut, as well as strewn around his treasury. They were made from combinations of the most valuable materials the kingdom of Egypt had to offer. The opulence of this pharaohs burial is not to be underestimated.

Hawasss favourite piece is a necklace with a winged scarab (some parts of which, it’s been speculated, come from glass created by a meteor), made from gold, silver, glass and semi-precious stones. Holding the Horus eye and this is a symbol of Osiris are the two cobras, he describes, protecting the king in between. And down, look at the lotus flower. This is in my opinion, a masterpiece. Such tiny, meticulous details in a jewellery item reveal a much larger picture about what inspired artists in ancient Egypt. Art in ancient Egypt was for the sake of religion, according to Dr Hawass.

Coming soon: the final instalment of King Tut Revealed, in which Hawass talks about why King Tuts tomb avoided robbery as others were plundered.

HD Video: King Tut Revealed (Part 3/4) The Treasure

(Click here for the transcript of this video)

Be it insights into the search for the tomb of Cleopatra, sneak peeks at the treasures of King Tuts tomb or new revelations on the riddle of KV63, were videos crazy here at Heritage Key. Sign-up to our RSS feed and get new clips delivered straight to your inbox as soon as they go online. Alternatively, keep an eye on our videos page, where you can take a look at all of our videos to date.

Where can you find King Tut Objects That are not on Display in Toronto?

As I write this piece, we are only hours away from the opening of King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto Canada. I was at the media preview on Friday and wrote an in-depth article on what to expect.

For me the Toronto show was the first time in my life that I saw Tuts treasures in person. Its a very remarkable experience to see them withmyown eyes andonethat Im never going to forget.

I thought I would take the opportunity to point out a few of Tutankhamun’s treasures which, for various reasons, are not part of the show.

You can see ALL the items, listed below, at King Tut Virtual. In fact, I found that taking a stroll through this virtual world, after seeing the exhibit, was a good way to round out the experience.

The Silver Trumpet

This very fragile silver trumpet was embellished with gold. It was wrapped in reeds when it was found. According to NPR it has only been played twicesince the tomb was discovered the last time being 1939. In both instances a modern day mouthpiece was used. It is currently being housed in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

King Tuts Golden Death Mask

With the exception of the pyramids, this artefact is probably the most well-known symbol of ancient Egypt. It no longer travels outside of the country (along with Tuts coffins) and itis currently housed in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Sandro Vannini has taken some exceptional photographs of the mask and here at Heritage Key you can see a 360 degree slideshow of Tutankhamun’s death mask.

The Alabaster Perfume Vase

This particular jar is kept in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. It was dedicated to King Tut and his queen. It has a long slender neck with a vulture on top. The cool alabaster (calcite) material would have aided in keeping the perfume fresh. The figures on each side symbolize the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. Sandro Vannini’s great photographs of this artefact can be seen here.

Ceremonial Dagger and Sheath

This ceremonial weapon is currently being displayed at the San Francisco King Tut exhibit. Itwas meant forshow, not battle. Although its made with iron, the blade is decorated with granulated gold (a soft metal) and the end of the handle is made with coloured glass and semi-precious stones. Its golden sheath has a rope pattern on the front. This pattern continues onto the reverse and ends with an engraving of a jackals head.

Small Container in the Shape of a Double Cartouche

These double gold containers rest on a silver platform. Near the border of the platform the symbols for life and dominion were incised. The god Heh (a god that represents infinity) is depicted on the object. She is kneeling on a basket and grasping a palm brand. This object is located at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. See it in detail in this slideshow.

King Tuts Coffins

The three coffins, that held King Tuts body, no longer leave Egypt. Tut’s corpse doesn’t travel outside of Egypt either. Stephen Byrne has a detailed article on the design of the coffins. The third, and final, coffin is the most famous and is made out of solid gold. They are currently in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. These coffins, along with Tutankhamuns funerary mask and other treasures, will be housed in the GEM museum when it opens in 2013.

Have you visited King Tut at the AGO? How did you like the exhibition? And do you agree with us that a visit to King Tut Virtual afterwards, to study the Boy King’s death mask and other treasures is a nice addition to your experience? Is the ‘King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs’ a once-in-a-lifetime experience, or will you return to get another dose of King Tut’s treasures? If you want more information on Pharoah Tutankhamun, visit our handy overview page for in-depth articles and the latest news.