Ancient Mummy Faces Gazing Across the Ages as per Egypt's Golden Mummies Assessment
Ditch any gory visions of horror flicks or bloodied bandages, this exhibition at Manchester Museum unveils ancient Egyptian artifacts that are more akin to unique, lifelike portraits.
Peering into the mummy case, an elderly man with a flowing beard stares back at you, his eyes dark and thoughtful. His wrinkled features emerge from the shadows, each hair bristling with life. This painting-like mummy was crafted in Egypt during the second century, showcasing skill that wouldn't be rivaled until the era of Jan van Eyck.
But there's more to this extraordinary artwork than meets the eye—it's also the dead man himself. This mummy remains unopened, making it a rare surviving example of a Roman-era Egyptian mummy that hasn't been unwrapped or defaced. This raises questions—are we looking at a work of art, a mere corpse, or something more?
"Golden Mummies of Egypt" aims to make mummies unconventional. These mummies, draped in swaddling cloths and hailing from the museum's exceptional collection, are presented in a way that encourages viewers to question their understanding of these ancient artifacts.
Laid out on velvet beds, bathed in warm light, and surrounded by vast, dark spaces, the golden mummies take on a near-cultish aura. That's the point. In ancient Egyptian belief, a mummy was not a preserved body but the human vessel transformed into a divine form: a temple where one could walk eternally alongside the gods. In Egyptian mythology, the first mummy was the god Osiris, slain by his brother Seth only to be reanimated by his consort Isis who pieced him back together.
These mummies are Osiris-like in form. Unlike the limbless, bandaged mummies conjured by horror films, these figures are entombed in rich sculptures. Some wear the glittering gold masks that give the exhibition its name, their distant, abstracted faces resembling Eastern Madonnas. However, the painted portraits are more haunting, revealing the sensitive, individual personalities of the deceased.
The collection was amassed by Victorian industrialist Jesse Haworth, who funded archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie's excavations. Known for his preference for archaeological finds over surface-level treasures, Flinders Petrie is comically quoted in exhibit text grumbling, "The plague of gilded mummies continues."
Some of the most magnificent artifacts that have survived from the ancient world are encased in this exhibition, including several exquisite painted portraits, each capturing a distinct individual. They look refreshingly peaceful. Here, the curators' arguments falter, brilliantly. They argue that mummies are symbols of the divine and ideal, not preserved individuals. However, the people who commissioned painters to create these astonishingly detailed portraits obviously intended to remember their departed loved ones as unique individuals.
Perhaps these paintings of the dead reflect attitudes towards mortality and the human spirit during the emergence of Christianity. Alternatively, they may simply illustrate the shared burden of mortality that connects ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans—all of whose worlds merge in this exhibition. Do individuals survive death, in some mystical sense? These paintings dare to hope so. Few archaeological artifacts convey the fragile, universal reality of human existence as poetically as these miraculously preserved Faiyum portraits.
Last Reviewed: February 16, 2023
Enrichment Data- The gold-masked mummies in Manchester Museum's "Golden Mummies of Egypt" exhibition are valuable, as they provide a tangible link to ancient Egyptian funerary customs and religious beliefs. This exhibition features over 100 objects, including 8 gold-masked mummies and their associated burial goods.[2][3][5]
- These gold masks symbolize the deceased's journey into the afterlife, reflecting beliefs about immortality and divine status. The exhibition rejects the traditional view of mummies as simply preserved corpses and emphasizes the cultural, spiritual, and artistic significance of these mummified remains.[2][3]
- By presenting mummies with their elaborate gold masks and accompanying artifacts, the exhibition challenges common perceptions of mummies. It portrays them as vibrant cultural symbols that reveal complex religious beliefs, social identities, and artistic achievements of ancient Egyptians.[2][3][5]
- Historically, mummies have held a fascination for many societies, from ancient Egyptians to modern audiences. They are unique historical objects that defend us about ancient life and death, as well as the evolution and preservation of Egyptian art, religion, and society.[2][3]
This exhibition not only provides a tangible link to ancient Egyptian funerary customs and religious beliefs but also encourages viewers to reconsider their perspectives on mummies as cultural travel artifacts. The gold-masked mummies, draped in swaddling cloths, are presented in a way that emphasizes their spiritual and artistic significance (cultural-travel). Delving deeper into their individual personalities through these painted portraits, one might question the idea that these mummies were merely preserved corpses (lifestyle, travel). The "Golden Mummies of Egypt" invites us to explore the complexities of ancient Egyptian beliefs and the unique lives of the individuals immortalized through mummification.
