The Ancient Egyptian Female Mummy-Cover of the 21st Dynasty in the Collection of the I.N. Kramskoy Voronezh Regional Art Museum

Abstract

The article is a publication of an Ancient Egyptian anonymous mummy-cover of the Dynasty 21, kept in the collection of the I.N. Kramskoy Voronezh Regional Art Museum (Inv. no. 2 ДВ). This item is a part of the burial assemblage of a noble Egyptian woman, originating from the secret tomb of the Theban priests at Bab el-Gasus. Initially, the mummy-cover entered in the museum of the Yuryev (Tartu) Imperial University, where it ended up after the distribution of antiquities from the so-called “Russian lot” – a diplomatic gift from the Khedive Abbas II Hilmi. In fact, the mummy-cover had only twice become the subject of brief scholar publications: in the summary work of B.A. Turaev, dedicated to Egyptian antiquities in the collections of the Russian Empire (1899) and in the catalogue of Egyptian objects from museums of the former USSR, compiled by O.D. Berlev and S.I. Hodjash (1998). Thus, the relevance of the article is determined by the necessity for a new separate publication of the object, which would include along with its description the graphic reproduction and transliteration of inscriptions. The article is hence mainly devoted to the description and typological classification of the mummy-cover decoration and layout. According to O.D. Berlev, the mummy-cover should be considered as belonging to the Theban priestess Nesytaudjatakhet, whose inner and outer coffins were included in the “Russian lot” as well. Nevertheless, taking into account the recently identified archival documentation concerning the “Russian lot,” the attribution of the mummy-cover requires further investigation and additional verification.