Cartonnage of Ankh-tesh
Date: 22nd Dynasty (945-716 BCE)
Dimensions:
70 in. (177.8 cm)
Medium: linen, glue, thin plaster, and paint
Place of Origin: Akhmim, Egypt
Classification: Mummies and Mummy Cases
Credit Line: Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1906.4
Label Text:The cartonnage of Ankh-tesh shows how a mummy could be enclosed in a “wrapper” made of linen, which was strengthened with plaster or glue and molded to fit the body. The gap at the back was laced up, and a foot board attached. The surface was coated with a layer of white plaster and painted all over with protective images and formulaic prayers addressed to Anubis, god of embalming and cemeteries, and to other gods in order to secure their help in reaching the next world. This cartonnage also includes a molded portrait of Ankh-tesh, with her face painted yellow-gold to show that she is one of the deified dead. The mummy would then be further protected by placing the cartonnage inside one or more coffins.
On view