Museums

Golden Mummies of Egypt arrives in Buffalo

Posted by Thomas H. Greiner on

✧ Content warning: this blog post on Golden Mummies contains photographs and mentions of deceased persons. ✧

The special exhibition Golden Mummies of Egypt landed at the Buffalo Museum of Science earlier this year and will be on display until January 3, 2021. Drawing exclusively from the vast Egypt and Sudan collection of Manchester Museum, the exhibition is the first travelling show put together by the museum in conjunction with NOMAD Exhibitions! Six mummies of deceased Egyptians are the central focus of the exhibition and over 100 objects speak of the mortuary practices from Graeco-Roman Egypt. Gold and the afterlife glitter throughout Golden Mummies.

The author outside the entrance to the exhibition.
The author outside the entrance to the exhibition.

Having opened on February 8 earlier this year, I was lucky to get to see it before the Canada-USA border closed in early March. Golden Mummies revolves around the Egyptian afterlife and its beliefs as it existed in the milieu of Graeco-Roman Egypt. Multiculturalism is a popular theme throughout, and the exhibition’s focus on Graeco-Roman Egypt is a welcome one. Here are my five takeaways from this exhibition:

Several styles come together here as the deceased is shown as a mummy before the gods Osiris and Isis. An inscription written in Greek is visible at the bottom of the stela.
Several styles come together here as the deceased is shown as a mummy before the gods Osiris and Isis. An inscription written in Greek is visible at the bottom of the stela.

1. Egyptian, Greek, and Roman: many traditions all at once together

The presence of multiple artistic and religious traditions was felt in many parts of the exhibition (see one such example above). Historically, by the time the Ptolemies established control over Egypt in the late fourth to early third century BC following Alexander’s conquest, Egypt had already experienced several external occupations over the preceding centuries (such as the Persian invasions). Over the centuries to follow, it was first the Ptolemies who built large monuments around Egypt and then later on the Romans continued building  in Egyptian fashion though with Roman influences. Helpfully, the exhibition features a short video going over some of the important sites from these times. The existence and the resulting inter-play of the varying styles is a well-known hallmark of the Graeco-Roman period. Nowhere is this more visible than in the funerary traditions and mortuary practices that are the subject of this exhibition.

2. It’s mostly all about the Afterlife

“Egyptians were obsessed with death” – so goes a common saying many people associate with Ancient Egypt. The nature of the archaeological record over the past centuries has certainly affected our understanding of this common saying. After all, archaeology has produced a wealth of material from the realm of the dead as opposed to that of the living. The theme of the afterlife may be rampant throughout the displays, but it is done so within the multi-cultural world of Graeco-Roman Egypt. It is a time period when ancient traditions were existing at the same time as those Greek and Roman ones.

Egyptian and Roman traditions were playing along together frequently. A young girl is shown on her mummy shroud here in Roman fashion along with some scenes of Egyptian deities. The catalogue record of Manchester Museum places this shroud into the period of AD 280-350.
Egyptian and Roman traditions were playing along together frequently. A young girl is shown on her mummy shroud here in Roman fashion along with some scenes of Egyptian deities. The catalogue record of Manchester Museum places this shroud into the period of AD 280-350.

For example, Greek text may appear on Egyptian stelae alongside depictions of Egyptian gods. Elsewhere, scenes of Anubis dressed as a Roman soldier decorate a wall within the well-known catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa. Egyptian masks, a tradition reaching back to the First Intermediate Period, also show these influences and a mask of a woman is an example of this inter-play below (note the dress of the deceased).

The tradition of the mummy mask may continue, but showcases here some influences: from the way the face is depicted to the garb the woman wears.
The tradition of the mummy mask may continue, but showcases here some influences: from the way the face is depicted to the garb the woman wears.

The exhibition elsewhere showed similar parallels of Roman traditions mingling with local ones with two funerary busts from Palmyra, Syria.

Portrait of a bearded man with a white tunic with red stripes.
Portrait of a bearded man with a white tunic with red stripes.

3. “Photographs from Egypt”: the Faiyum Portraits

In addition, Golden Mummies features a highly elucidating gallery of portraits of the various deceased: the “Faiyum Portraits” named after the area just to the west of the Nile south of Cairo from where a large number of these portraits were discovered. Craftspersons painted these portraits, an alternative to mummy masks, on wooden panels (or shrouds of linen) and affixed them over the head to the body of the deceased with many wrappings. Here, the portraits emphasise the importance of the deceased’s identity and are an almost photographic window into the multi-cultural world of Roman Egypt. They reflect the choices the deceased made in how they wanted to be portrayed. In one example, we can marvel at the curly hair of a bearded man, whose garb may identify him as a soldier (see above). Or we can admire the elaborate hairdo of a woman who is wearing jewellery made of precious stones (below).

This portrait of a woman was excavated by Petrie at Hawara.
This portrait of a woman was excavated by Petrie at Hawara.

4. User-friendly and engaging interactive education panels and displays

Interactive elements throughout Golden Mummies help to contextualise what the visitor is looking at. In one short video, the visitor travels across Egypt to visit the most important sites of the Graeco-Roman period and in another they meet the main gods of the Egyptian pantheon. The exhibition also features several mummies of deceased persons from the museum’s collection, whose outer wrappings and cartonnage are mostly visible in the cases.

Interactive panels provide several points of interaction for viewers throughout the exhibition: here a visitor could find out what CT-scan technology may reveal of the wrappings.
Interactive panels provide several points of interaction for viewers throughout the exhibition: here a visitor could find out what CT-scan technology may reveal of the wrappings.

Near several displays were interactive display panels which allowed the visitor to examine a mummy digitally. They could see the intricate craftsmanship of the painted, outer layers or examine the body by means of CT-Scans. For example, one could look at the surviving folds of skin around the waist of an individual and learn these folds to be an indicator of being overweight. Nevertheless, adopting technologies to study the ancient past has been quite prevalent in our field (rightly so!) (1) and I did find the interaction here to be straightforward and user-friendly.

A particular highlight of technology within the exhibition was one display which allows the visitor to “read” parts of an Egyptian inscription and to identify some Egyptian deities. Drawing from the Stela of Pawer, it shows the deceased presenting an offering to the god Osiris and an inscription written in demotic underneath identifies the deceased as “Pawer, son of Djehuty (Teos) and Tahor (Tauris)”. Taking your finger and dragging it across the screen allows you to identify Pawer or Osiris or translate parts of the inscription.

5. Manchester Museum’s magnificent Egypt collection

As the first travelling exhibition organised by Manchester Museum, Golden Mummies allows visitors a brilliant window into its vast collection. A brief look at the early history of the collection (emphasised by busts of Jesse and Marianne Haworth, early benefactors of the museum) was one of the final points of the exhibition and throughout the exhibition quotes from important early figures in Egyptology decorate the the walls, including those of William Flinders Petrie. Certainly, the majority of the museum’s collection derives from his excavations and spans across all periods of Egyptian history. (2) Thus, a lot of the material supporting this exhibition comes from Hawara, a major site of the period and focus of Petrie’s excavations. For a North American audience, Golden Mummies really is a welcome treat to see objects from museums other than the British Museum or the Louvre…

Exhibition Catalogue around Golden Mummies

In the excitement of visiting this exhibition, I also eagerly await to get my hands on the exhibition catalogue that was published recently by the museum. In announcing the catalogue, curator Dr. Campbell Price vividly summarises the draw behind ancient Egypt and, in turn, the exhibition:

“Ancient Egypt is synonymous with gold, sex, art, and death – a combination as intoxicating as it is enduringly popular with book readers, documentary watchers, and museum visitors. (3)”

The exhibition excellently brought together a wealth of funerary material from Graeco-Roman Egypt and – all gold and glitter aside – excelled at elucidating the colourful and varied diversity of Egyptian mortuary practices during this period.

Gallery

A man stands between two figures of Anubis and was originally erected in Abydos, an important cult centre of the god Osiris.
Bes was a widespread deity in Egypt’s popular religion. Here Bes appears with tall plumes as headwear and also wears a non-Egyptian military uniform.
A painted wooden panel of wood, it shows the goddess Isis with her outspread wings behind her brother and husband Osiris. The top left of the panel shows the beginning of an inscription.
Numerous mummies from Graeco-Roman times were fitted with a label that bears the name of the deceased. Here, the name “Tasenetsenut” as well as a short prayer are given in both demotic and Greek.
This mummy mask of a man from Roman times shows him holding a papyrus scroll in his left hand. Beneath are visible some Egyptian funerary scenes.
Funerary busts such as this one of a bearded man with a Palmyrene inscription from Palmyra show well how Roman artistic and mortuary traditions mingled with local practices.
Remarkable jewellery items also survive from Graeco-Roman times as evidenced here by an ear ring, a pair of ear rings, and a bracelet in the shape of a snake.
Two busts at the end of the exhibit show the faces of Jesse and Marianne Howarth, who were major benefactors behind Manchester Museum.
The upper part of the mummy of Lady Isaious bears a gilded mask that is the central image of the exhibition. Beneath her feet is a depiction of two naked enemies, a practice that dates back to pharaonic times, when the enemies of the king would be trampled symbolically (and, thus, defeated).
This depiction of a bearded man blends well Roman and Egyptian traditions.

Key facts

  • Manchester Museum and NOMAD Exhibitions also produced a short video that highlights the key themes of Golden Mummies. The video can be viewed here.
  • The overview of the exhibition on the NOMAD Exhibitions website also features some highly-detailed photographs – these can be viewed here.
  • The museum has reopened its doors during these difficult pandemic times and is open Friday through Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm. Tickets may be purchased ahead of time with a pre-assigned time slot.
  • While you wait or after the exhibition, be sure to check out the galleries across from the exhibition. Artefacts. Every Object tells a Story features objects from around the world and explores what these objects tell about the places from where they come. Several Egyptian objects are in this collection and speak to their history of being in Buffalo including a lovely scribe’s palette (C5959) from the Late to Ptolemaic Periods.

All photos unless otherwise indicated were taken by Thomas H. Greiner.

Notes

  1. Of course, Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum is hosting the well-known “Egyptian Mummies” exhibition from the British Museum until March 21, 2021. The exhibition features six mummies from the later periods of Egyptian history and showcases how technology can help us learn about their lives.
  2. Golden Mummies also briefly addresses some of the racist ideas as espoused by Petrie in his writings on eugenics. His racist ideas were recently the focus of a roundtable organised by the Friends of London’s Petrie Museum, an important collaborative effort and initiative to recontextualise Petrie’s work .
  3. After C. Price, “Just published! ‘Golden Mummies of Egypt: Interpreting Identities from the Graeco-Roman Period’”. Egypt at the Manchester Museum, available at: https://egyptmanchester.wordpress.com.