After 10 years, Perenbast's flowers have been restored.
It's a touching tale of love and loss; of finds division and research. The ancient Egyptians often placed flowers on the mummies of their loved ones as a final goodbye and hopes for a successful rebirth into the Afterlife. It is one of the most poignant details of the burial of Tutankhamun, a tiny wreath of flowers placed over the uraeus[1] of the young king's crown as a last farewell (example floral necklace of Tutankhamun linked below).
These flowers, though delicate, have sometimes survived and can tell us about what plants and flowers were valued, their associations with funerals and the time of year a person was buried (and therefore when they probably died by calculating the time taken to prepare the burial).
In this case the story is also about provenance, and museum staff having an intimate knowledge of the objects in their care. It's critically important that all archaeological finds are recorded correctly. In the story related by Dr Price, Curator of Egypt and the Sudan at the Manchester Museum, museum practice of dividing up finds has been highlighted. Because of how museums categorised objects, part of one burial (flowers) ended up associated with a related burial of her possible husband ('Mr Perenbast').
After the error was discovered by Bristol Museum World Cultures curator Sue Giles, the flowers have been returned to Perenbast in the Manchester Museum from Bristol. Giles noticed the Bristol mummy included flowers covered in black resin, but there was no resin on it. (The preview photo below shows Giles pointing out the flowers to Dr Price). Perenbast in Manchester, however, had been covered in a thick coat of black resin so it appeared that her flowers had been inadvertently sent to Bristol.
It's always great to see artefacts, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant restored to their rightful place.
[1] the cobra on the front of the crown
Example floral wreath from the embalming cache of Tutankhamun featuring Papyrus, olive leaves, persea leaves, cornflowers, blue lotus petals, Picris flowers, nightshade berries, faience, and linen:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/09.184.214-.216/
For more read Dr Campbell's blog by clicking the image below.
https://goo.gl/6h1q34
It's a touching tale of love and loss; of finds division and research. The ancient Egyptians often placed flowers on the mummies of their loved ones as a final goodbye and hopes for a successful rebirth into the Afterlife. It is one of the most poignant details of the burial of Tutankhamun, a tiny wreath of flowers placed over the uraeus[1] of the young king's crown as a last farewell (example floral necklace of Tutankhamun linked below).
These flowers, though delicate, have sometimes survived and can tell us about what plants and flowers were valued, their associations with funerals and the time of year a person was buried (and therefore when they probably died by calculating the time taken to prepare the burial).
In this case the story is also about provenance, and museum staff having an intimate knowledge of the objects in their care. It's critically important that all archaeological finds are recorded correctly. In the story related by Dr Price, Curator of Egypt and the Sudan at the Manchester Museum, museum practice of dividing up finds has been highlighted. Because of how museums categorised objects, part of one burial (flowers) ended up associated with a related burial of her possible husband ('Mr Perenbast').
After the error was discovered by Bristol Museum World Cultures curator Sue Giles, the flowers have been returned to Perenbast in the Manchester Museum from Bristol. Giles noticed the Bristol mummy included flowers covered in black resin, but there was no resin on it. (The preview photo below shows Giles pointing out the flowers to Dr Price). Perenbast in Manchester, however, had been covered in a thick coat of black resin so it appeared that her flowers had been inadvertently sent to Bristol.
It's always great to see artefacts, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant restored to their rightful place.
 |
| Sue Giles pointing out the flowers on the mummy of ‘Mr Perenbast’. Photo: Dyan Dodson. |
[1] the cobra on the front of the crown
Example floral wreath from the embalming cache of Tutankhamun featuring Papyrus, olive leaves, persea leaves, cornflowers, blue lotus petals, Picris flowers, nightshade berries, faience, and linen:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/09.184.214-.216/
For more read Dr Campbell's blog by clicking the image below.
https://goo.gl/6h1q34
اهتم المصريون القدماء بوضع اكاليل الزهور على موميات الموتى لان الزهور تنضح بالمواد العطرية بالاضافة الى روح البهجة التى تبعثه تللك الزهور فى الحياه الثانيه للمتوفى
ReplyDeleteWoooooooow , thanks for sharing us such amazing post , but i wonder did you think these flowers keeps its smells until now , i wish i will be there to smell them , ancient egyptian make their perfumes from the flowers , and from the collections of Tut ankh amun in cairo museum the bottle of his perfume is still kept the smell , 💝💝💝💝💝💝💝
ReplyDeleteSubhy Dawod وايضا للزهور علاقة دينية حيث ان زهرة اللوتس تمثل مرحلة البعث بعد الموت عند القدماء المصريين فالاهمية الدينية داءما تطبع على تفكير المصرى القديم.
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