- Museum number
- EA22812,b
- Description
-
Mummy of a woman.
Wrapping - Dense wrapping covered with a linen sheet and several strips placed vertically, horizontally and two strips are crossing the chest area.
Skull - Mouth closed. Artificial eyes inserted in the orbits. On the neck, two amulets in metal which shapes have not been identified yet. Brain has been removed; cheeks, mouth and neck have been packed. High dental wear, and dislocated teeth (post-mortem)
Thorax and Abdomen - No fractures. The dorsal and lumbar intervertebral discs are partially opaque. Thorax and abdomen are almost completely filled with packing material, including a denser mass in the upper right zone of the thorax, probably sand or mud mixed with resin. Incision is visible and the heart seems still in place. Possible lesion in the spine.
Arms - Extended. Hands with extended fingers converging over the pubic area.
Legs - No fractures, dislocations, or lines of arrested growth noted. The legs and feet are covered with packing material, some might contain organs. Between the legs, and in the thoracic region are scattered cylindrical beads, probably from a necklace or bracelet the thread of which has been broken.
- Production date
- 700BC-680BC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 27 centimetres
-
Length: 157 centimetres (mummy)
-
Width: 39 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
In set with EA22812a and EA 22813a and b.
Nestawedjat was the daughter of a man named Djedmutefankh and a woman named Djedasetesankh. They were probably members of one of the influential families who held high office in the Theban temple hierarchies during the period of Kushite rule over Egypt, but their precise place in society has yet to be determined.
The mummy found in the coffins of Nestawedjat is the body of a woman and is very likely the remains of Nestawedjat. It was previously thought that the x-rays were showing that it is the body of a man and it had to be dated to the 21st Dynasty (about 1000BC).
Bibliography:
British Museum. A Guide to the First, Second and Third Egyptian Rooms, London 1924, pp. 91-92;
B. Porter & R. Moss, 'Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings' V (Oxford: Clarendon Press), p.24;
'Art and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt' Japan, 1999-2000 [exhibition catalogue] (Japan, 1999), [27].
D. Antoine and M. Vandenbeusch, Egyptian mummies. Exploring ancient lives, Sydney 2016, pp. 20-53.
-
Label found in coffin stored in archive as AES Ar.2024
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
1997 22 Oct-1998 30 Apr, Italy, Rome, Fondaione Memmo, Ancient Faces
2016-2017 10 Oct-30 Apr, Sydney, Powerhouse Museum, Ancient Lives
2017 16 Jun-18 Oct, Hong Kong Science Museum, Ancient Lives
2017-2018 14 Nov-20 Feb, Taiwan, National Palace Museum, Ancient Lives
2018 16 Mar-22 Jul, Brisbane, Queensland Museum of Art, Ancient Lives
2019-2020 14 Sept- 28 Jun, Montreal, Museum of Fine Arts, Ancient Lives EXTENDED DUE TO COVID19
2020-2021, 19 Sept - 21 Mar, Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, Ancient Lives
- Condition
- good
- Acquisition date
- 1880
- Department
- Egypt and Sudan
- BM/Big number
- EA22812,b
- Registration number
- 1880,0130.1.b
