tour 20 of 20
Enlightenment: Classifying the World
Wooden inner-coffin of Irtyru
The British Museum acquired its first mummy and
coffin in 1756 when William Lethieullier (1701-56) bequeathed most
of his collection of Egyptian artefacts. Until then the Museum
contained relatively few Egyptian objects, most of these being
small pieces from Sir Hans
Sloane's
collection.
Lethieullier,
who came from a wealthy family, had travelled to Egypt in 1721-22.
It is not known exactly where he went, but he certainly collected
many objects from Saqqara. These included this coffin and the mummy
it contained, which were shipped back to England on the
Dove in 1722. The
mummified body was of Irtyru, a man who is named in an inscription
on the coffin. Various gods are also represented on it, including
the sky-goddess
Nut
and below her a scene in which Irtyu is judged before
Osiris
and
Thoth.
After
his return Lethieullier joined the Coldstream Guards, rising to the
rank of Lieutenant-General by the time of his retirement in 1752.
He continued his
antiquarian
interest throughout this time, joining the Society of Antiquaries
of London in 1724. The mummy and coffin were clearly important
pieces in Lethieullier's collection, since a coloured
engraving was made of it and in 1727 Lethieullier allowed Alexander
Gordon to prepare an essay on the coffin.