Mummy Head Cover

COLLECTION NAME:

The AMICA Library

mediaCollectionId

AMICO~1~1

The AMICA Library

Collection

true

AMICA ID:

AIC_.1910.221

amicoid

AIC_.1910.221

AMICA ID

false

AMICA Library Year:

1998

aly

1998

AMICA Library Year

false

Object Type:

Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects

oty

Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects

Object Type

false

Creator Name:

Unknown

crn

Unknown

Creator Name

false

Creator Nationality:

African; North African; Egyptian

crc

African; North African; Egyptian

Creator Nationality

false

Creator Dates/Places:

Ancient Egypt Africa,North Africa,Egypt

cdt

Ancient Egypt Africa,North Africa,Egypt

Creator Dates/Places

false

Creator Name-CRT:

Egyptian

crt

Egyptian

Creator Name-CRT

false

Title:

Mummy Head Cover

otn

Mummy Head Cover

Title

false

Title Type:

preferred

ott

preferred

Title Type

false

View:

full view

rid

full view

View

false

Creation Date:

Roman Period, 1st century B.C.

oct

Roman Period, 1st century B.C.

Creation Date

false

Creation Start Date:

-100

ocs

-100

Creation Start Date

false

Creation End Date:

-1

oce

-1

Creation End Date

false

Materials and Techniques:

Cartonnage (gum, linen, and papyrus), gold leaf, pigment

omd

Cartonnage (gum, linen, and papyrus), gold leaf, pigment

Materials and Techniques

false

Classification Term:

Mummy Goods

clt

Mummy Goods

Classification Term

false

Subject Description:

This covering for the head of a mummy represents a highly idealized image of a woman wearing a heavy wig. The front sections of her hair are braided and ornamented with golden beads and rosettes. The fringe of the woman's own hair appears as curls along her forehead. She wears a locketlike ornament in the form of the hieroglyph for 'heart.' Her chest is covered with the representatiopn of a wide collar made of rows of floral and geometric ornaments. This lower margin is decorated with a scene of Osirisseated on his throne, flanked by a pair of protective deities, and an image of the deceased (shown kneeling) followed by the so-called four sons of Horus, who were associated with the protection of the vital organs of the mummy. Isis and Nephthys, the divine sisters of Osiris who act as mourners for the deceased, appear on the shoulders. These head coverings provide a substitute for the vital facilities of the head, but the gilt-covered surface of the mask also served to identify the deceased with the sun god Re, whom the Egyptians described as having skin of gold.

sup

This covering for the head of a mummy represents a highly idealized image of a woman wearing a heavy wig. The front sections of her hair are braided and ornamented with golden beads and rosettes. The fringe of the woman's own hair appears as curls along her forehead. She wears a locketlike ornament in the form of the hieroglyph for 'heart.' Her chest is covered with the representatiopn of a wide collar made of rows of floral and geometric ornaments. This lower margin is decorated with a scene of Osirisseated on his throne, flanked by a pair of protective deities, and an image of the deceased (shown kneeling) followed by the so-called four sons of Horus, who were associated with the protection of the vital organs of the mummy. Isis and Nephthys, the divine sisters of Osiris who act as mourners for the deceased, appear on the shoulders. These head coverings provide a substitute for the vital facilities of the head, but the gilt-covered surface of the mask also served to identify the deceased with the sun god Re, whom the Egyptians described as having skin of gold.

Subject Description

false

Creation Place:

Africa,North Africa,Egypt

ocp

Africa,North Africa,Egypt

Creation Place

false

Dimensions:

H.: 46 cm (18-1/8 in.); W>: 33.3 cm (13-1/8 in.); Depth: 28 cm (11 in.)

met

H.: 46 cm (18-1/8 in.); W>: 33.3 cm (13-1/8 in.); Depth: 28 cm (11 in.)

Dimensions

false

AMICA Contributor:

The Art Institute of Chicago

oon

The Art Institute of Chicago

AMICA Contributor

false

Owner Location:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

oop

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Owner Location

false

ID Number:

1910.221

ooa

1910.221

ID Number

false

Credit Line:

The Art Institute of Chicago, William M. Willner Fund

ooc

The Art Institute of Chicago, William M. Willner Fund

Credit Line

false

Rights:

http://www.artic.edu/aic/rights/main.rights.html

orl

<a href="http://www.artic.edu/aic/rights/main.rights.html"target="_new">http://www.artic.edu/aic/rights/main.rights.html</a>

Rights

false

Context:

In the Ptolemaic Period (332 B.C.-30 B.C.), the head, feet, and chest of wrapped mummies were often covered with cartonnage, which was thought to ensure the function of those parts of the body in the afterlife even if the mortal remains wre decayed or destroyed. Such cartonnage headpieces are direct descendants of helmet-style masks like the famous gold covering of Tutankhamun (c. 1334 B.C.).

cxd

In the Ptolemaic Period (332 B.C.-30 B.C.), the head, feet, and chest of wrapped mummies were often covered with cartonnage, which was thought to ensure the function of those parts of the body in the afterlife even if the mortal remains wre decayed or destroyed. Such cartonnage headpieces are direct descendants of helmet-style masks like the famous gold covering of Tutankhamun (c. 1334 B.C.).

Context

false

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Mummy Head Cover