Objects

The Mummies

17bahkten hor

Two  mummies were donated to the Literary and Philosophical Society. The first, arriving 1821, caused such a sensation that people lined up around the street to gaze in wonder. The craze had passed by 1826 when the second came – she caused barely a stir.

The first was Bakt Hor. Inside her rough hewn sycamore coffin was an beautifully painted coffin rich in detail and craftsmanship. A clamour rose to open it. Rudimentary attempts were made but her secrets were kept safe until twentieth century experts came with their x-rays. Some of those secrets will be revealed in artwork made for our June exhibition.

The second mummy was named Irt Yrw. She was found by Dominique Vivant Denon, the eye of Napoleon. She was displayed in the Louvre until Denon died and she was sold to the Lit and Phil. In 1999 she went back to the Louvre for a special exhibition. Two toes were lost in the process.

The mummies are now owned by the Natural History Society of Northumbria and on display at the Great North Museum: Hancock.

Click on the above image to learn more about them.

 



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